And Never Return
by TygerEye
Summary: When Luke Skywalker embarks on a search for a missing friend, he finds more trouble than he had anticipated, including a planet that wants to remain hidden....
1. Chapter 1

**AND NEVER RETURN**

_TygerEye Antilles_

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Star Wars._ It's that simple._

_**Author's Note:** This piece of fanfiction takes place after _The Jedi Academy Trilogy, _approximately twelve years after _A New Hope_. For the purpose of this story, I am ignoring all books that occur after this time._

_**Summary: **When Luke Skywalker embarks on a search for a missing friend, he finds more trouble than he had anticipated, including a planet that wants to remain hidden…_

* * *

**AND NEVER RETURN**

**CHAPTER ONE**

Mara Jade cursed as she twisted two wires together and applied a small amount of fusing agent. At least she'd remembered to restock her repair kit during her last delivery, on Bothawui; otherwise this would have taken much longer to fix. For a day that had dawned promising no more than a long hyperspace trip, things had considerably worsened.

The Trader had been checking on her fragile cargo when she a sudden warning jolted her mind. Sprinting to the cockpit, she had barely raised the shields when the _Jade's Fire_ was yanked from hyperspace. The _Odd Origin_, her partner for this venture, was also back in realspace, not far from her. Mara tested the comm system and just as quickly shut it back off, the loud burst of static echoing in the close metal confines.

The pirate group was sizeable, but poorly-coordinated. After the initial surprise, they bungled trying to cripple the freighters and a power struggle started, so they were attacking each other more than the _Fire _and _Origin. _Mara kept the rest of their attention on her as the _Origin_ fled for safety. Once the other ship escaped the cone-shaped interdiction field, Mara programmed a short hyperspace hop before resetting the original destination: Ryloth.

She was almost a standard hour from the hostile encounter when a post-battle system check informed her of a glitch in the navcomputer—probably from a lucky ion shot that she had thought glanced off the shields. However, she was forced to pull her ship back from lightspeed again until she could make repairs.

She would be behind schedule by probably half a day with all this trouble. Hopefully the _Odd Origin_ was already near Ryloth, unharmed. It would be difficult enough for a green pilot to navigate the stormy atmosphere of the Twi'lek homeplanet without having to deal with onboard system failures.

Mara eased out of the uncovered compartment, careful not to touch anything else. The _Fire _could be finicky sometimes, but she couldn't resist throwing the fusing tube into her repair kit with more force than necessary. Her schedule was completely off. She would be late delivering the soul gems, which would delay her meeting on Alzoc III. She might even miss the entire convention on Mon Calamari, which she'd planned to at least attend the end of…

Her thoughts were interrupted and she burst into a run when she felt the initial blastes. Mara had been attacked enough to immediately recognize the sound and feel of lasers hitting her ship. She slid into the pilot's chair and began checking the controls, increasing her shields, and powering up the weapons. Sensors captured an image of four snubfighters, unknown models. Lasers splashed against the transparisteel viewport as the flight came around in unison for another run. These guys were practiced, unlike the thugs from earlier. A small smile crossed Mara's face.

She pulled the _Fire_ directly in front of them and they abandoned their diamond formation, breaking into pairs. She tracked one of the pairs and focused on the leader. She fired, hitting the wingmate and sending him reeling.

On the next pass, she took out the other two—they'd flown too closely together and when she hit one, the other collided with wreckage inside the debris cloud that had formerly been his partner.

Her shield control started whining—they were slowly failing. One of the starfighter pilots had been lucky. No more shots had gotten through to cause any real damage to her precious ship, but it was only a matter of time. Mara swore. Two ships left—surely she could take them out before her own shields gave out. She had only one other choice, and that was to risk an uncalculated hyperspace jump. Since she wasn't even entirely sure where she was _now_, that would be her last option.

The leader brought his ship around in a tight arc, and his singed wingmate joined him. Mara dove, waiting for him to follow her, then jerked the ship up, yanking the controls around so that she could fire at the remaining ships. Targeting one, she waited a moment for the confirming tone from the weapons…

And another alarm blared, drowning out the lock tone as the sensors found eight other starfighters, to complete the squadron, and a ninth ship, much larger—close to the equivalent of a Corellian Corvette.

The barrage on the _Jade's Fire_ finally managed to ruin the shields and severely damaged her engines. After the freighter was left powerless, the attack stopped. Mara had been able to decrease their numbers by two more starfighters before her ship couldn't respond anymore. The _Fire_ was crippled, her engines mostly slag, her shields gone. Two of the holds, one of which contained soul gems, were open to the vacuum of space. There had been a fire, but one of the few systems still operating automatically extinguished the flames.

The Corellian Corvette analog caught the _Jade's Fire_ in a tractor beam and began to pull the ship towards it.

* * *

The gas planet Yavin was a glowing orb in the distance as the cloaked Jedi Master made his way to the top of the Great Temple at sunset. It had become a habit of his to watch the sunrise and sunset from this high perch. He inhaled the humid air and sat cross-legged on the cool stones. The sun cast its lasting radiance on the treetops and turned the large leaves blood red and brilliant purple. The Jedi Academy was in its summer season (though Yavin 4's winter weather was considered summery on many worlds) and the temperatures would not drop enough to make the Temple pleasant to the majority of the people there, including the all-powerful Jedi Master himself. It was not the hot temperatures that bothered the Tatooine farmboy. Humidity was the unbearable factor. 

Luke deeply inhaled the musky scent of leaves and wildlife. Just as Yoda had retreated to Dagobah, a world teeming with life, so Luke retreated to Yavin 4, choosing to remain away from the political world of Coruscant. It was easy to slip into meditation when so surrounded with the Force and life. This daily ritual allowed him to release tension and negative feelings that may have built up during the day and clear his mind for the next day, where he would teach the new generation of Jedi.

The lightshow ended in a myriad of vivid colors bleeding away and Luke felt his consciousness slip into another kind of colored vortex. Instead of taking the negative feeling from him, the Force began to construct an image.

He couldn't see her face, but he immediately recognized her aura. Strong, intelligent. Dangerous. Although Mara Jade was usually impatient, she was in fact the opposite when she was tinkering with her ship. It was as if working on a machine served as a form of therapy for the Trader.

The vision blurred and suddenly the ship began to shudder under the onslaught of laser cannons. Alarms all over the ship began to scream. Mara bolted for the cockpit, turned the shields up to full and flipped the weapons panel on. Another series of images flickered past his consciousness, none that made sense and then he was suddenly aware of his location, on top of the Jedi Academy. He was staring over the edge, dangerously balanced as though he'd been thrown from the vision to stare hundreds of meters below.

The sun had vanished beneath the horizon and early dusk surrounded him, bringing a sense of stillness. He could feel his heart pounding, the adrenaline rushing through his veins. A cold knot of fear underlined all this.

"Master Skywalker?"

Luke pushed himself away from the ledge. He closed his eyes momentarily, to slow his breathing and regain his composure. "Yes, Tionne?"

"Talon Karrde, a Trader, left a message for you on the—"

Luke jumped up and began to run for the staircase back down the main levels of the Academy.

"On the communication system downstairs. He requests that you contact him as soon as possible," the silver-haired bard finished lamely. She shook her head and followed the Jedi Master at a much slower pace. He was still getting over the illness he'd caught earlier in the month—he really shouldn't be running around yet.

A few minutes later, Luke stepped onto the projection field of the comm unit. Talon Karrde appeared the moment the connection finished. Apparently the Trader had been waiting for the Jedi to contact him.

"Master Skywalker, I'm glad you could return my call so quickly."

"Where's Mara?" were the first words from the Jedi Master's mouth.

Talon blinked, surprised. "Uh, I'm not sure. We're looking into it—"

"'We'?"

"I have a couple of people looking around. Two days ago, the _Fire_ and another ship were stopped by a group of pirates a system or two away from Ryloth. Our information from the _Odd Origin_ is sketchy. The pilot's still new, this was his first solo flight. I sent him with Mara so she could look after him when he tried Ryloth's atmosphere. Pirates attacked, armed with an Interdictor Cruiser, and the new kid managed to get away. He isn't sure whether Mara had already jumped or not, but he assumed she would be all right. I've sent a few teams out to look around for her. She might have sustained considerable damage, looking at how long it'll take to get the _Origin _back up to specs."

Karrde paused and studied the younger man's face. "It was one of your Jedi things," he said with certainty. "You knew something had happened to Mara. Tell me, is she alright?"

Luke ran a hand through his short hair. "I don't know, Talon. I mean, I know she's not…you know, she's still alive, but there's too much distance right now. She's just too damned far away."

"At least we know she's still out there." Talon took a deep breath. "Ryloth's in the Outer Rim. That will explain the distance."

Luke nodded in agreement. "I'm going to need a ship."

Talon raised an eyebrow. "Luke, I have several ships already looking for her. Besides, you should stay with the Academy. Last I heard, you weren't exactly drowning under capable instructors."

"Kam Solusar and the others can handle my classes for a little while. I only taught a few students, anyway, the most experienced. They can help Kam and Tionne. And Kyp's here, he can take on some students." He paused. "If I can get closer to her, I'll be able to find her."

Karrde sighed to himself. He wasn't sure why he felt on the verge of panic. Mara was a big girl; she could take care of herself. She had proven herself capable of the impossible numerous times. So pirates had attacked her—it had happened before. And she always managed to win, or at least escape so that she could finish her journey. Why was this one different? Talon touched the screen of a computer console next to the comm system. "I'm going to have a Rodian pilot by the name of Asre stop at Yavin 4. Will there be any problem with him staying there for a few days before I can send another ship out to pick him up?"

"No problem at all," the Jedi Master responded quickly.

"Good. He should be there in two days, at most. Probably less. He'll have supplies on board, so don't worry about rations and such."

"Isn't this Asre going to be mad that I'm taking his ship?"

"It's not his."

"Oh. Okay, I'll be waiting."

Talon nodded shortly. "Good. Karrde out."

* * *

(TygerEye Antilles, Copyright 2005.) Please do not use without permission of the writer. 


	2. Chapter 2

**AND NEVER RETURN**

**CHAPTER TWO**

Luke rolled his shoulders, trying to ease some of the tension from his muscles. He sat in the cockpit of the _Lotta Luck_, a freighter a little larger than the _Jade's Fire_. The stars had elongated into streaks and now the farmboy-turned-Jedi-Master was left with a full week in hyperspace before he reached Ryloth. He found himself wishing that he'd been selfish enough to bring Artoo-Detoo with him, but shook his head. He was right to leave the astromech droid behind; Artoo would do more good at the Academy, taking care of things while his owner was absent. But that didn't mean that Luke had to like his decision.

However, just because Artoo wasn't there didn't mean that Luke would be alone on the trip. Talon Karrde had forgotten—or decided to omit—the fact that there was an artificial intelligence unit onboard. Luke had barely walked onto the ship when a woman demanded what he was doing there and locked him out. He had to go find the Rodian pilot to explain to "Cat" what was going on.

Luke was used to talking with droids, especially Artoo-Detoo, but Cat had a personality like he'd never seen before in a computer. It was nearly impossible to get along with her. After a few minutes, he'd come to an agreement with the computer; he would let her do her job, including navigation and piloting, and she'd leave him alone. She hadn't been very happy with her second part of the deal, but she seemed to regard piloting the ship herself to be more important than leaving the new passenger to his self-imposed isolation.

Luke reflected on the two days spent anxiously awaiting the ship that would take him to the other side of the galaxy. Even Tionne, the most mild-mannered woman he had ever met, finally told him to either shield his emotions better or stay away from the students. Luke hadn't even realized he'd been projecting, and with a farmboy blush creeping up his neck, he reinforced the mental shields to prevent that from happening again. His mind was a whirlwind of emotions: Mara was missing and Luke didn't know if she was injured or not, and he had felt and seen the ships surrounding her. Dread was growing inside.

He had reviewed the vision in his mind's eye countless times. He could no longer clearly see the beginning, where she realized she was under attack, but the other visions grew brighter and more detailed. Even with the clearer picture, though, he could not understand what the visions were trying to tell him. Usually the Force chose to show him events that had not happened yet. But Mara's attack had been in the past by almost two days. Why show him something when he had no chance to help her? It didn't make sense.

Luke stared at the stars blazing by the cockpit and subconsciously reached to the Force, stretching out for Mara's presence. He always thought it near impossible to touch any individual presence when at lightspeed, theorizing that life could not follow at that speed outside of a ship.

Then he remembered with vivid clarity when Obi-Wan Kenobi had still been alive, at 0.4 past lightspeed on the _Millennium Falcon_. Old Ben had still felt Alderaan's death. Luke guessed that with a large death, not even hyperspace was a haven for Force-sensitives, much less trained Jedi Knights.

That brought up an interesting question. Would a Jedi sense if someone close to them died, with at least one of them at lightspeed? Was it just the size of death, or also the closeness of one mind to the other?

What about Mara? Would Luke sense her death if in hyperspace? It was an interesting question, though not one Luke wanted to dwell on, much less test.

He stifled a cough and stood up to walk to the small kitchen. He needed something hot to warm his body and he hoped the Rodian had a taste for hot chocolate.

_Of course not,_ he thought to himself as he searched through the cabinets. He'd just have to make due with caf. He brought the mug with him as he entered the room he'd claimed for himself.

He and Mara had a bond, a special tie within the Force. As soon as he'd met her, as soon as he'd felt her unforgettable Force signature, he knew that she was different from anyone else he'd met or would ever know. As they grew to be friends and as he became her teacher in discovering the light side and refining her considerable Force talents over the few years, he discovered that it was more comforting and enjoyable to be near Mara than even his twin sister. This was strange, yet still made a sort of sense to the Jedi Master. When he was alone, he was able to admit that it was because Mara Jade was his opposite. While she was easily incensed, he remained Jedi calm. She was quick to the offensive, he and his naïve ideals remained defensive. They were like two sides of the same decicred—but both accentuated and complemented the other's personalities.

Luke shook his head, trying to banish his current train of thoughts. He already knew where it was going—he'd been there before. He refused to make anything more of his and Mara's friendship. He put the mug down on a crate and stretched out on the bunk. Finally closing his eyes, he drifted to sleep, knowing full well that his dreams would continue what he refused to consciously contemplate.

* * *

Mara woke in stages with a pounding headache. She opened her eyes, blinking in the bright light that her eyes were unaccustomed to. She wanted to move her head to look around the room, but her head felt too heavy to even attempt such a feat. Closing her eyes against the offending light, she concentrated enough to touch the Force inside herself and used it to ease her headache. Pain suppression was not her strongest talent, but she was adept enough to reduce the pounding to a dull throbbing between her temples. More cautiously, she opened her eyes a second time, but nothing had changed. 

Mara used what strength she had to push herself into a sitting position. Her entire chest felt as if it had burst into flames and her breath hissed through clenched teeth, but she refused to lie back down. The room she was in was remarkably plain—light blue walls flowing seamlessly into a ceiling of the same color, with glowlamps embedded at intervals to provide the light she'd found so obnoxious. She was lying on the single bed in the room. On a table next to her was a complex-looking machine. After a moment, Mara saw that the machinery routinely scanned her body to record her vitals and check on the healing process. They would already know she was awake.

Whoever "they" were, she didn't know. All she could remember were bits and pieces. Making the hyperspace jump to escape the pirates. Having to defend her ship when unknown fighters attacked. Having to defend _herself_ when a boarding party entered her defeated ship. But these memories lacked continuity and she found _that_ above all to be the most annoying aspect. She knew she had taken out at least three humanoids before another had shot her, but she couldn't even remember what the attackers looked like, only that her mind had automatically classified them as "humanoids." The pain that she felt upon waking was only a shadow of the original pain and Mara wondered what she had been shot with. It wasn't anything she was familiar with and that was certainly saying something. Part of her training during the height of the Empire had been someone shooting her with different types of weapons so she would recognize them.

The single door slid soundlessly open and a tall woman walked in. She wore a simple white tunic and a pale grey skirt that brushed the floor. Mara estimated the woman to be a little short of two meters, but was unsure; it was difficult to determine height when she was lying down. The woman appeared perfectly human with few exceptions: mainly, her skin was the shade of amethyst and a cluster of dark purple dots decorated the right side of her face. Her hair was snow white and cut short to barely brush her shoulders. The most vivid feature on her face, though, were her eyes, a brilliant topaz.

"I see you are awake," the woman said, her voice deep but rhythmic. "I wondered when you would regain consciousness. You gave us quite the scare, Miss Jade. You've just been lying there for six days."

"Where am I?" Mara demanded, inwardly proud that she kept her voice even. Her face was expressionless—as she was apparently in hostile territory, she needed to be careful.

"You are in a Medical Center," the humanoid answered, then introduced herself. "I am Treneda Iranil. I have been assigned to your case."

Mara glared at Treneda, trying to keep focused and keep the room from swimming in her vision again. "What case?"

"I am going to help you adjust to your new home."

"I'm not staying here," Mara snapped. There was something strange, an odd feeling at the edge of her mind. It wasn't her danger sense, she realized, then it occurred to her: she had a very strong danger sense, and yet…she hadn't gotten any warning before the starfighters attacked her.

Treneda cocked her head to the side. "Yes, you are staying here. We cannot allow anyone to leave once they've reached our solar system. Oh, believe me, Miss Jade—can I call you Mara?—you will love your new home. From what we understand of your galaxy, with all its wars and such, you will find our way of life a delightful change of pace. Our three inhabited planets are united under a peaceful government—"

"Peaceful? Your people fired on an already damaged freighter—mine!" Mara was pissed. "Where the hell is my ship? I demand to be released."

"We fired only to disarm." The humanoid's thin lips curved into a frown. "Our starships attempted to contact you via comlink first. When you refused to answer, they disarmed your ship." Treneda sat on the end of Mara's bed. "It was nothing personal. No ship is allowed to enter our system and leave. It is our way of protecting ourselves."

"What system is this?"

"Qantul. It's in what your Empire calls, uh, 'Wild Space', I believe."

"The Empire's not in charge anymore," Mara corrected offhandedly.

"It isn't? The Rebellion won?" Treneda asked, surprised."

"About seven years ago."

"So the Rebel Alliance is the major galactic presence?"

"Yes, but they're the New Republic now."

"The New Republic. How odd. I mean, the Rebels were weak and disorganized. The Empire seemed unbeatable." Her wide yellow eyes focused on Mara again. "We gather information and compile the history of the galaxy from our new arrivals. It has been several years, unfortunately, since someone passed our way. We are quite fortunate to have run across you. We managed to download the maps and records from your ship. We have also appropriated your medkit, I hope you don't mind. See, we're trying to replicate your design for the bacta patch. As you can tell, we have a form of bacta, though not as potent as te organic form. Our laboratories are still developing it."

At Treneda's comment, Mara realized she hurt not just from whatever she'd been shot with, but there was also a general ache she associated with mended bones. Her arms had grown tired of propping her body up, so she pushed herself back so the headboard held her upright.

"No one in the Republic has been able to artificially produce bacta," she started slowly. "That kind of technology would be greatly desired in the rest of the galaxy. Any number of people would pay an extraordinary amount of money for that process." It was worth a try, Mara though. Maybe she could convince these people to let her go and even make some money as well. It would take quite a pile of credits to make up for the lost soul gems. And to repair the _Fire._

But the humanoid waved her comment away. "Our people are comfortable with our lives now. We remain hidden from the wars, so our people's lives are not useless expended in territory and dominance quarrels."

"So in order to maintain this, this _cowardly_ doctrine, you imprison innocent people?"

"We are not cowards," Treneda replied, miffed. "We are cautious observers. We value life. Our people have always honored life, and so, yes, we do capture intruders. But we do not 'imprison' them. We help them find their niche among our worlds. We help them find homes and work. We regret being forced to keep them away from their old homes, but we have a duty to protect our own people."

Treneda stood up. "I am sure you will learn this in time." She dropped a handful of computer chips on the bedside table and tried to help Mara lie down again, but the angry Trader glared at her and Treneda back off. "Uh, those datacards have our basic history and information. It should answer many of your questions." She walked to the door and turned back. "Oh, and by the way, welcome to Kath'alon. I am quite certain you will enjoy it here."

(TygerEye Antilles, Copyright 2005.) Please do not use without permission of the writer.


	3. Chapter 3

**AND NEVER RETURN**

**CHAPTER THREE**

After two days spent avoiding the artificial intelligence unit, Luke finally submitted when Cat started setting off random alarms in his room. He thought he had sensed something the evening before, but nothing had come of meditation. Although the Jedi Master was often thought to have infinite patience, not even the Force could fully deafen him to the blaring of a proximity klaxon every four minutes. He left his room and the ship fell eerily silent.

Cat finally spoke up in the kitchen. "Wanna play dejarik? I have a board."

Luke found it aggravating not to be able to address an actual droid body. "Will you leave me alone after that? No alarms, or anything like that?"

"Yes," she said in a small voice.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Luke wondered what had created her personality, it was almost childish. Like a teenager.

"Alright then."

"I'll set it up in the common room," she said happily. Luke shook his head as he poured himself a mug of hot chocolate. He'd had to substitute one or two ingredients, but he thought (hoped) it would taste okay. He brought the steaming cup with him to where the dejarik holoboard was waiting. The room was completely quiet and Luke assumed Cat had gone somewhere else momentarily. Walking towards one of the chairs, he lifted the drink to his lips to blow on it.

"I wanna be red," Cat announced, startling the Jedi and nearly making him spill the hot liquid all over himself. He managed to burn his tongue.

"Blast it! Stop sneaking up on me, Cat! Make a sound or something—I never know when you're here or not."

"I did make a sound. It's not my fault you're jumpy," she sniffed, then added accusingly, "This hasn't been much fun. Joran warned me that you'd be boring. I should have believed him. He said I should shut myself off for your trip."

"I'm sorry," Luke apologized. After a pause, he said, "I know I've been a boring guest. I'm edgy. The reason I'm here is because I'm trying to find a friend of mine, her ship was attacked. I've been meditating, trying to see if I could make sense of the visions the Force sent me." He felt slightly foolish explaining this to a strange droid, but he also felt better telling someone. The only other person who knew where he was going was Talon Karrde.

Aw, sithspawn. Luke crossed his fingers in hope that his twin sister wouldn't decide to comm him until he returned. He hadn't even _thought_ of Leia since Mara went missing.

Cat was silent for a moment. "Waitaminute…you're Jedi?"

Luke nodded.

"I thought you looked familiar, but Joran told me you weren't who I thought you were. You're Luke Skywalker."

"Yes."

"Cool!" If she were human, Luke imagined she would have a quirky grin. "I've never beaten a Jedi at dejarik before."

Luke guessed that she had accepted his apology. "We haven't even started playing yet. How do you know I'm not a good player?"

"No one can beat me at dejarik."

"Pride is of the dark side," Luke muttered automatically.

"I'm a computer. Pride does not affect me," she said in a superior tone. "It's the simple truth. I'm the best."

"Then why should I even bother trying?" he asked, trying hard to hide his growing grin.

"Because it will amuse me and you owe me at least that since you ignored me for one hundred and fifty-two hours and thirty-two minutes. Fifteen point five seconds."

"Fine, fine. You want red?"

"That's what I said."

Luke tapped his side of the board to make his holographic creatures appear. "Prepare to lose, Cat."

* * *

Consciousness came quicker the second time around. Her headache wasn't as intense as before and the Force eased it completely away. The lights in the room were not as blinding as they'd seemed before, though Mara wasn't sure whether the intensity had actually changed or if her eyes had just been hypersensitive the first time she woke up.

There was this feeling of surrealism, as if she were still dreaming. She could almost pretend she hadn't spent time in a bacta tank, or whatever these people used. She pushed herself upright again and this time it was easier. Her chest still ached and her muscles were sore from lack of usage, but she knew that would go away eventually.

She turned and touched her bare feet to the warm floor. The room stayed in place this time and for this small miracle Mara was grateful. Her body didn't feel steady enough to stand up quite yet, so she picked up one of the datacards and inserted it into a reader.

She immediately recognized the format, set up like the old Imperial databanks. Mara skimmed through the information. There were three habitable planets in the system of eight: Kath'alon, Eqiirsa and Javsret. From Treneda's parting comment, Mara knew she was on the capitol. There were a few paragraphs written about local plant and animal life and just to be on the safe side, she scanned through them. The author was a colorful writer and Mara thought some of the phrases were oddly worded. Something stuck in her mind, a mention of the carnivorous Ithorian redleaf bloom. Those plants were famous in horror stories as three-meter-high, seven-petal flowers that were capable of catching and digesting a human-sized meal. The writer had made two mistakes: the plants were actually called "blueleaf" despite their color, and two, they had never existed.

Code. An old Imperial word play code that hadn't been used since she had first begun training as an infiltrator.

She went back and read through the first and second paragraphs again, memorizing the third word per sentence. Then she arranged them in the predetermined order and took the second-to-last letter per word to spell out the name of the agent: konnerdonteril.

Konner Donteril.

Mara's mind read out the rules of approach: locate author, comm author and ask for "Calyn Xerom". Agent would give the forwarding address. From there, the contactor goes to the mentioned address three days later, a the time he or she originally called.

Even as these rules were mechanically read off, one thought kept running through her mind: Konner was alive.

* * *

"Now that wasn't fair," Luke complained. "You cheated."

"I did not," Cat responded indignantly. "Don't blame me if you play like a _nechivno._"

"Oh, great, they taught you Old Corellian insults."

"Besides," the computer added, "are you going to try and convince me that the other five games were flukes?"

"I was just warming up," he said defensively.

"As if I actually believe that. I'm sure it must be strange for you; you can't use your Jedi powers to influence my mind."

Luke started laughing. "I don't use my powers that way." Imagine what his sister would say—Luke Skywalker using the Force to win a measly dejarik game. No, forget his sister—what would Mara say? He'd never live it down.

"I'm sure, Jedi-boy."

"I don't," Luke insisted. "I'm don't trivialize the Force like that."

"What if you were playing saabac?"

"No," he answered. Cat wasn't the first one to ask these questions. Numerous diplomats and countless dinners refused to believe that the Jedi Master wouldn't abuse his powers.

"No, listen to me. You didn't let me finish. You're playing saabac to win money for your little Jedi Academy and you're playing against murderers who stole the money they're playing with. Would you use the Force to win that money so that you could expand your Academy to fit more students to increase the future number of Jedi in the galaxy?"

"That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair. What would you do?"

"You know, it's easy for a computer to come up with these hypothetical questions, because you know you'll never have to answer them for yourself."

"Excuses, excuses, Skywalker. What would be your choice?"

_Oh, why the hell not?_ "Sure, it's for a good cause."

"So you would let the ends justify the means?"

"I can't believe that a computer is trying to get me involved in a discussion on my morals."

"You don't want to talk about that? How about we change the topic?"

"Gladly."

"Okay. This woman you're looking for. Who is she?"

"Mara Jade." Luke pushed his chair back. He didn't even want to look at the latest massacre on the game board.

"I didn't ask for her name. I want to know who she is."

"She's a Trader, one of Talon Karrde's."

"Look, Jedi-boy, I don't know whether you are consciously acting stupid or not. Simple info like that I can access in a heartbeat. I want to know why you're searching for her."

"She a friend of mine." He cleared his throat.

"A close friend?"

"Yes."

"How close?"

"We're friends," Luke answered, trying to find a way to evade more interrogation. He thought having a computer question his morals was bad enough. This was worse.

"Girlfriend?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I am not going to answer that."

"Oh, come one," Cat whined. "I rarely get to see the sludgenews and I want gossip."

"I can't believe you watch that crap, Cat."

"A girl needs to keep herself occupied somehow. Anyhow, you know what you need? Besides a girlfriend?" Just as he opened his mouth to say something, she answered her own question. "You need to lose another game of dejarik to get your mind off this."

Luke found himself smiling. "Bring it on," he challenged.

(TygerEye Antilles, Copyright 2005.) Please do not use without permission of the writer.


	4. Chapter 4

**AND NEVER RETURN**

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"These are your identification cards, based on the information we got off your ship," Treneda said as she handed Mara a wallet. The human glanced through it then tossed it onto the bed beside her new suitcase.

"Also charged to your ID cards is some money. And here are some more datacards. They'll have any important information and keycodes you might need. And here's how to get a hold of me. I've already reserved a room for you at the Newcomer's Hotel. The staff will help you settle in and you can stay there until you find a permanent apartment. I understand from the records you kept that you were a trader of some sort?"

Mara nodded mutely.

"Good. I am sure we can use you on interplanetary transactions. I will notify the proper office to see about that. Last is a comlink." Treneda held up a small black device. "You just clip this onto your belt and this onto your ear and you're ready to go." She turned to leave. "I'm sure your transportation will be here in a just a couple of minutes. Go ahead and change into some fresh clothing and I'll be back soon."

Mara didn't say anything as Treneda let the door slide closed behind her. This was Mara's eighth day on this planet, if what Treneda said could be trusted. Eight days! Mara rarely remained on the same planet for more than a week, but according to this humanoid, Kath'alon and her sister planets would become her permanent home.

Mara quickly dressed into a long black skirt and a green tunic and tied a black belt around her slender waist. It would take a while to get used to this new style, since her usual wardrobe consisted mainly of flightsuits and the occasional catsuit or dress. These people hadn't even included a pair of pants with her new clothes. She also had no weapons—according to Treneda, there were no weapons in the hands of civilians. Her blasters were probably still in what was left of the _Fire_ and her lightsaber…all Mara could hope was that one of these humanoids turned it on with the wrong end facing them.

And what about Konner? Knowing what she did of the man, she was certain that Konner would not just sit around on this planet, not if he could help it. To get off Kath'alon, he would almost certainly need some sort of weapon.

Konner. Her mind kept pushing his name to the front whenever she tried to think about something else.

He was dead. Right? But if he were dead, then who would use his name?

Surely there were more than just one Konner Donteril in the galaxy. Right?

But more than one Konner Donteril who knew this specific Imperial code? One that only the Emperor's secret agents used? It was a simple code, yes, if you understood it, but it was a desperate code, created out of necessity in case the agent could not get to anything else.

Mara had met Konner at a banquet she had attended on Coruscant, oh, at least fifteen years ago. She was there to keep an eye on the Senator from Kuat, a stuck-up nobleman whose name had been implicated during a recent Rebel raid. Konner, one of the Imperial Intelligence Agency's rising stars, had been assigned as her date to discourage other males and to also give her a cover. Mara had assumed that she would never see the black-haired man again, but that was not to be so.

On no less than eleven other missions, when the Emperor's Hand was required to have a partner, Konner Donteril was there. Mara had been forced to rethink her original opinion of intel agents when he actually helped rather than hinder. Although fighting was not Konner's strong point, he could infiltrate any organization with an ease that Mara envied, as well as a large portion of the Intelligence community. He was the only man she had ever actually _liked_ in a manner outside of professional admiration. They had just admitted their mutual attraction less than a month before he disappeared.

Records stated that his ship left Ord Mantell with flight plans for Coruscant. He never arrived at Imperial Center. The initial searched died away and it was assumed that he had taken a bad hyperspace trip—it was always a possibility with spacers, that they would jump to lightspeed and their ship would become just one more missing freighter.

But what if Konner Donteril wasn't dead? What if he had ended up here, like her, twelve years earlier?

Mara couldn't believe it. If he was alive…

She pushed this thought to the back of her mind and closed the suitcase. She would search him out as soon as she could.

* * *

The next morning Cat activated herself early and was determined to wake the Jedi Master as well. Although she kept to her promise and did not use the alarms, the temperature in the room he had claimed as his own underwent drastic weather changes in the span of five minutes, dropping to near freezing before shooting up and then plummeting again.

"I'm up, I'm up," Luke finally snapped. His voice was hoarse, his throat bone dry. He sat on the edge of the bed with the blanket wrapped around him. "Stupid computer," he muttered. He cleared his throat.

"What did you say?" Cat asked sweetly.

"I said, 'good morning,'" Luke lied. Who knew what the computer would do if he insulted her? Yes, the almighty Jedi Master was afraid of a computer. If he hadn't felt like crap, he would have laughed.

"How far are we?"

"About four days to Ryloth. Enough time for more dejarik. Maybe you'll even win a game. Not probable, but you can keep your hopes up."

"No, no. You chose the game last night, I choose today."

"The only game onboard is dejarik."

"How do you know I didn't bring a game with me?"

"Because I've already searched through your luggage. Really, don't you have anything else to wear besides black?"

"There were some other colors in there. White."

"Socks and underclothes don't count."

"Sure, they do."

"If other people don't see them, they don't count."

"How do you know other people don't see them? I walk around without shoes sometimes." He took off the blanket and walked to the refresher in only a pair of black pajama pants. He tried to ignore the whistle that followed him.

"I didn't realize that Jedi actually worked out," Cat said. "Not a bad view."

Luke could feel a blush rising on his neck, but was determined to ignore the computer's comment.

He spent the remainder of the morning stretching out his muscles and exercising. In addition to the difficulty caused by his still-healing body, his concentration was diverted because Cat was constantly making small remarks. It was even more embarrassing that it was computer commenting on his physical condition this way. She definitely had a female's mind.

"If all Jedi look like that, then I have to wonder why you would bother hiding under those robes. I mean, I'd certainly stop doing something illegal if a hot guy walked up without a shirt," she was saying as Luke took his lightsaber out of his bag. He hadn't been wearing it for the hyperspace journey. "Whoa, what are you going to do with that?"

"Practice."

"Uh, no. Not on my ship, buddy."

"Oh, come on. I've been using a lightsaber since I was nineteen and I haven't sliced into anything without meaning to."

"That's nice. You are _not_ using it on my ship."

"Look, I played eight games of dejarik with you last night. The least you can do is leave me alone for an hour." He paused and Cat remained silent. He added, "I am a Jedi Master, Cat. You can trust my word. I will not injure your ship."

There was a long pause before the computer spoke up again. "Fine," she said as if that single word took worlds of effort. Just don't hit anything vital. Of mine."

"Thank you, Cat."

"I just know I'm going to regret this."

Luke moved fluidly through cuts and parries, as if sparring against an invisible opponent. It was a good workout, although Luke preferred a real match to this. Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately) not many people equaled the Jedi Master in lightsaber work, except for Mara and maybe one other knight. Thankfully, Cat remained silent until he shut his lightsaber off. She breathed an audible mechanical sigh of relief.

"See, I didn't even touch the ship," Luke couldn't help but point out.

"Yeah, well, I am not ever going to let you do that again. You nearly gave me a heart attack several times."

"Computers can't have heart attacks, Cat."

"Shut up."

Luke grinned at the acidic reply as he sat down on the floor. He could hear mumbling from the walls and knew that she was doing the equivalent of talking under her breath.

"What did you say, Cat?" he asked sweetly.

"Nothing."

The Jedi Master let his smile fade as he concentrated on the Force. He controlled his breathing and closed his eyes so he could slip into a light trance, mainly to refresh his body after his workout. As soon as he touched the Force, he stretched out and called out for his missing friend, though the odds were against him finding her presence while still in lightspeed.

* * *

_Mara?_

Mara had drifted off into her thoughts and was startled out of memory when someone called her name.

The Shrigan in the driver's seat had his attention on the road before him. Mara had been reading one of the datacards when she'd let her mind drift.

When he didn't repeat her name, she glanced back down at the reader. The capital city of the Shrigan government wsa located on Kath'alon and was named Deshnal, after one of the ancient great kings. Although monarchs no longer ruled the planets, the name remained.

Had Konner compiled all of the information on the datacards, or had he only written the botanical section?

She'd have to remember to ask him when she saw him.

(TygerEye Antilles, Copyright 2005. Please do not use without permission of the writer.


	5. Chapter 5

**AND NEVER RETURN**

**CHAPTER FIVE**

_Mara?_

Mara's head snapped up. There it was again. "Yes?" she asked the driver.

"What?"

"You weren't calling my name?"

"No, ma'am," he said, eyeing her oddly.

"Oh. Never mind then." The voice had seemed familiar and she knew she should recognize it, but it was so far away and she had other things to worry about.

She was skimming through the address datacard and finally found "Telikna, Alyro," the author of the botany section. Unfortunately, he didn't live on Kath'alon.

"Here we are, miss. Newcomer's Hotel."

Mara looked out the window at a relatively short building, six stories tall. It was built from some sort of green stone and seemed to be in good repair. "How much do I owe you?"

"Nine yuros."

"Uh…"

The driver smiled. "Just press your thumb here, like that. It'll be taken from your account."

Mara did what he instructed and then pulled a hooded cloak from her small suitcase. It was purple, not exactly her color, but it would have to do. Most of the beings on the street were wearing hoods in the light mist.

She grabbed her suitcase and datacard holder and walked into the hotel. She looked around the bright lobby and found a few public comm booths on the side. Before she checked in, she wanted to try and contact Konner. It only took a moment to figure out how to work the machine and it took much of her control not to look anxiously over her shoulder at the other mix-matched people in the room.

An older human woman's face materialized on the screen in front of Mara.

"Yes?" she asked politely.

"Hello," Mara began. "Is this the home of Alyro Telikna?"

The woman's face darkened. "Who are you?"

"A friend. Can I speak to him?"

"He's not here. He's never been here."

"Oh. Well, maybe you can help me. Is there a Calyn Xerom there?" _Act natural, Jade. It hasn't been that long_.

The woman shook her head. "No one here by that name."

When the woman didn't add anything else, Mara prodded, "Well, ma'am, did she leave a forwarding address?"

"As I said, young miss, no one here by that name. I've lived in this house for fourteen years. Never been anyone here named Talyn whatever."

"Oh, sorry to have bothered you," Mara apologized before cutting off the link. Few of the people in the lobby had removed their hoods, so she pulled hers back up and walked to the front desk to check in. If asked about the call, Mara could simply say that she had read some of Alyro Telikna's work and was impressed and wanted to talk with him.

She spoke quietly with the hotel secretary and got her room assignment and key code. As she entered the turbolift, she couldn't help but feel disappointed. That comm call was probably her best change of finding out whether Konner still lived and was in the Qantul system and it had proved worthless. The turbolift doors opened and Mara walked down the hall towards her room. Halfway there, she was aware of someone walking behind her. She did not turn around.

"I heard you were looking for Calyn Xerom. She was a dear friend of mine." The voice was deep but unrecognizable. The hope she had felt when the stranger spoke the opening phrase died quickly.

"We used to live together on Selonia, but I lost contact with her a few years ago," Mara responded obediently. She turned around and was face-to-face with a black-haired man with navy blue eyes.

"That's too bad. It happens very often, though."

"True, but we were like sisters. If you have any information on her whereabouts, I would be grateful."

He guided her to the side of the hall as he tapped in a key code and turned on the lights inside his room.

"Sorry, I didn't catch your name," he said, walking to the small kitchen and grabbing two glasses from the cabinet.

"I didn't give it," Mara answered simply.

"How about you give it now?"

"You mind if I take off my cloak?" she asked.

"No problem." He had turned on the heating system when they entered the apartment and the room was growing increasingly and uncomfortably warm, to force her to remove her cloak without him asking her to. _Asshole_, she thought. She could play the game as well as him, but it was a useless waste of energy. Had she still been the Emperor's Hand and badass assassin, she would have felt obligated to show this Intel agent how tough she way.

She pulled the hood back and then took the rest of the cloak off to rest it on a chair. She looked up and her eyes met two very wide blue ones.

"You still want my name?" she asked, her voice dropping.

The shock on his face clearly meant that he recognized her and the hint of fear—no, reserve—told her that he knew her as the Emperor's Hand.

"Mara Jade," he breathed. "Dear gods…" He quickly tried to control his emotions, but his shocked expression had taken away from his indifferent face. There was something familiar in the jaw line…

"I see my reputation precedes me. Since you obviously recognize me, I would be appreciative if you would introduce yourself."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Oh, right, just a sec." He headed to the refresher while Mara waiting impatiently. A moment later he returned, toweling off his hair. He had evidently used the sink to rinse the color from his hair and removed the masking materials he'd used to alter his nose and cheekbones. The effect had been enough to delay Mara's recognition.

"Daryn?" she asked, trying her best to hide her surprise. "Where's Konner? It was his name I found."

"You always liked him more than me," Daryn Amet complained. "No matter what I do, not matter how much more handsome I am, it's never good enough for you." He dramatically sighed, placing his hand over his heart. "I could remove this beating organ essential to my life-force to prove my love to you and you—"

"Drop the soap opera, Amet. Where is Konner and what in all the hells of Kessel are you doing here?"

"When you speak so beautifully, how can I resist?" the brown-haired man joked. "Konner's in a bit of local trouble, so he's gone underground. He sent me to pick up the Newcomer. He sure as hell didn't guess it would be you. I can't wait to see how far his jaw drops."

"I'm sure it won't be anywhere near as far as your did," she quipped. "So, what, does Konner send his little mutt after every Newcomer?"

"Well, we haven't had anyone new in about eight years. And he was a Wookiee; we're lucky he at least understands Basic." He smiled. "But even if we did have them regularly, Konner took an immediate liking to the human who killed six starfighter pilots and five boarders. Knowing now that you're, well, who you are, I would not have expected less."

"Thank you, Amet," she said, her tone an echo of the disdain she would have, as the Emperor's Hand, felt forced to include. She did not need the approval of anyone. But she'd grown past all that. She was no longer the Emperor's Hand. She was a Trader.

"Is Konner on Kath'alon?" She accepted the glass Daryn handed her. The drink was sweet enough to be fruit juice and it left a sickly aftertaste.

"No, Eqiirsa. I've got tickets for us to head over there tomorrow morning. Sorry you don't get to do much sightseeing, but you wouldn't want to, anyway. Kath'alon sucks. Eqiirsa has the industry and Javsret the ancient structures and all. The Shirgan polluted Kath'alon before they really actually understood what they were doing. Now the planet's covered with anti-pollution shields and generators and cleaners and stuff."

"What time should I be ready to leave?" She handed the cup back to Daryn, but he refused to take it.

"You've got to finish it. I know it tastes like shit, but it'll change the frequency on the transmitter they put in your arm. Don't bother trying to take it out," he warned when she searched her arms for the telltale mark. "They dug it into your muscles and it would hurt like a rancor to get it out. However, with that wonderful stuff, you'll be a blur on their scanners in an hour and an hour or two after that, you'll have disappeared completely."

She downed the rest of the red liquid and set her glass down on the counter before she dropped it as her stomach started cramping.

"Yeah, you'll feel sick for a while, but the stuff works and we won't risk our people." He stood up so that he no longer leaned against the wall. "As long as you remain in one place, they won't bother watching your frequency and they won't worry until they don't see you anymore. When the cramping stops, we'll know it's safe to leave. You can have that room," he gestured to the right side of the apartment. "Just tell me when we can leave. The sooner we're off Kath'alon, the better."

(TygerEye Antilles, Copyright 2005.) Please do not use without permission of the writer.


	6. Chapter 6

**AND NEVER RETURN**

**CHAPTER SIX

* * *

**

Luke had enjoyed the silence and barely managed to stifle a groan when Cat came back.

"I fixed some food for you."

"Oh?" He made it a question.

"Yeah. Joran kept plenty of ration bars onboard so I cooked some together and added some stuff. I'm pretty sure it's edible." Luke knew that although Cat was a computer mind, she had control of all the droids on the ship. She'd offered to cook before, but he'd managed to avoid that. Something told him she wouldn't be a very good chef.

He counted off five more push-ups then pushed off the floor and went to his knees. "You _think_ it's edible?"

"I'm fifty-four percent certain that you won't get food poisoning. The odds are in your favor."

"Fifty-four percent?"

"Is there an echo in here?"

"No offense, Cat, but I think I'll skip."

"If I can't practice on anyone, then my culinary skills won't grow."

"Sorry. You can test yourself with Joran. Rodians have stronger stomachs." He paused. "Wait a second. How did you cook? The ration bars are in here and I know for a fact that you didn't get them out without me noticing."

He could hear laughter, quiet at first, then growing. "Your reaction wasn't what I had hoped for, but it will suffice." A pause. "For now."

"Since you obviously weren't cooking, what have you been doing? You were actually quiet for a while."

"I didn't know all that much about the almighty Jedi Master, so I looked up your record. No significant other, no offspring. Twin sister, Leia Organa Solo. Two nephews and a niece, all Force-sensitive and heading for your Academy. You stay at your Academy most of the time…except for last month. Some obscure report suggests that you were not there."

"Is that so?"

"So where were you? Off fighting evil?"

"I'm not a superhero," Luke laughed. "And there hasn't been a lot of evil to fight lately. No, Leia wanted me to check on something, so I did," he concluded vaguely.

"Where did you go?"

"Look, I really can't talk about it…"

"Have anything to do with the outbreak of Tibersian Fever on Renega?" she asked innocently.

"No," he answered, cursing her silently.

"I almost believe you."

"It's the truth."

"Too many coincidences, Jedi-boy. You disappear when this bio-engineered virus pops up, you reappear and suddenly the New Republic has a large enough sample to begin formulating the necessary serum. Plus the fact that you're still sick with it."

"I am not. I'm almost completely healed…" His blue eyes narrowed. "Oh, aren't you a clever computer."

"Now that you've confirmed it, maybe you could explain why you haven't used your precious Force to heal yourself yet?"

"It's a virus. I can heal wounds like blaster burns, cuts and stuff like that. Broken bones are more difficult. I'm just not experienced enough with diseases and viruses to completely get rid of them. Some Jedi who are healers can, but I lack in that area."

"So, really, you should be resting and not exercising, right?"

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're really concerned with my well-being or do you just want me to put my lightsaber away for the remainder of the trip?"

"You are so cynical. How does a boy who grew up on a moisture farm get so cynical?"

"With practice. And experience." He sat back on his heels. His body was not aching as much as it had before and he hoped that meant the virus had run its course. Something strange tickled at the edge of his Force presence and he reached out to figure out what it was.

"Mara."

"Excuse me?" Cat said. "What's wrong, your face went blank, like you were off in your own little galaxy…hey, Jedi-boy, what's wrong?"

"Stop the ship."

"We still have thirteen hours and twenty-five minutes left—"

"Now, Cat!"

"Yes, sir." The ship slowed noticeably and Luke fought to keep from sliding forward. Cat had apparently also played with the gravity console. He headed for the cockpit.

Cat activated the holo starmaps and pointed out their current location with a brilliant blue. "I assume you had me pull us from hyperspace for a reason."

Luke closed his eyes. Wild Space. He gestured towards a cluster of three systems. "There."

"There what?"

"Go there."

"Fine. Calculation finished in eight point three minutes." She didn't sound happy. "There aren't many maps of Wild Space, so it will take a while to go along the known routes to your destination."

"Just do it."

* * *

Eqiirsa was almost halfway covered with water. The green and orange terrain was separated into five large continents, surrounded with a myriad of small islands. The shuttle was guided over the northern port of the blue-green ocean and Mara tried her best to look away from the viewport. The shuttle was decorated in black and at least three shades of green and viewports covered the walls of the passenger cabin, giving the feeling of being in an open-air vehicle and diminished the natural feeling of claustrophobia. Instead the travelers leaned away from the windows so they wouldn't feel like they'd fall out. It had been a disconcerting nine hour trip. Mara would rather the pilot use lightspeed engines—this distance would normally have taken but a few minutes in hyperspace. 

Daryn leaned towards her. "Quite a view, isn't it? Reminds me of Naboo. You know, well, _before_."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Mara had a thousand questions to ask, but Daryn had been adamant that Konner be the one to answer them for her. All that Daryn would tell her was that Konner led a group of non-natives who were determined to escape the Kath'alon system.

The intercom clicked on and in a strange language, the captain of the shuttle spoke.

"We're approaching the docking bay and the pilot asks that all passengers fasten their safety harnesses," Daryn translated. He'd always had a knack for languages.

Mara waited, trying to be patient as the pilot coaxed the bulky shuttle into a docking bay. She grabbed her small suitcase before Daryn could and motioned him to lead. For once, she realized she had no anxiety eating at her because no one would recognize her. There were enough humans that one new one wouldn't be noticed immediately and the Shrigans had captured all these humans before she had really made a name for herself. The people didn't know who she was. No rumors, no stories, no dark glances from strangers who refused to believe she was no longer Imperial. It was…liberating.

Daryn spoke softly into his comlink and one of the speeders stopped in front of them. Daryn opened the door and motioned Mara in. He climbed in behind her. The door automatically closed.

"_Riama, Kin'atka, nim!"_

The driver actived the privacy screen and pulled away from the walkway and they were on their way.

(TygerEye Antilles, Copyright 2005.) Please do not use without permission of the writer.


	7. Chapter 7

**AND NEVER RETURN**

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

The holographic blue wampa stomped across the gameboard, grabbed the red mynock and squashed it between his massive fists before the flying reptile could sneak to the opposite edge of the board.

"Ha!" Luke cried out triumphantly. "I beat you."

"Cat: twenty-six. Luke Skywalker: one." Luke could hear disappointment and even disbelief in her tone despite her flippant words.

"You didn't see that one coming, did you?" He walked to the kitchen to refill his mug.

"Yeah, well, I _let_ you win. I felt sorry for you."

"Bantha shit." Luke narrowed his eyes. "You just won't admit a mere _human_ beat you at your game! Admit it."

"I won't admit anything that isn't true." Cat crossed her figurative arms.

"You know what, Cat? You're a sore loser."

"Oh yeah? You're a sore winner," she countered.

"Serves you right. Pay you back for all the taunts and condescending remarks."

Cat snorted but abruptly switched the topic. "We're coming up to your system, marked Zero-Five-Two-Seven-El-Em, listed uninhabited. Three minutes to reversion."

Luke grinned but decided not to push the subject. Not yet, anyhow. He walked to the cockpit and took his accustomed place in the pilot's chair. It didn't matter that he wouldn't be flying this bucket. It was habit. Besides, it wasn't like the _Luck_'s current pilot would need the seat. Of course, had he done this in the _Fire_…

"Excuse me, Jedi-boy. Wrong seat."

"You want me to sit somewhere else?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I'm the pilot, remember? Or have you forgotten in the rush of foolish pride you experienced after mistakenly believing you won a measly game of dejarik by yourself?" Her computerized voice rose a few notches.

"You don't even have a body. Why does it matter where I sit?" It took much of the Jedi Master's vaunted self-control not to laugh at the computer's tirade.

"It…It just does. Move."

"Almost time to pull us out of lightspeed. I better buckle up. Wouldn't want to get slammed into the viewport." He pulled the safety webbing across his chest.

"Are you insinuating that I'll handle this ship badly?" Her anger was easily detected and Luke though the room had gotten a few degrees warmer.

"I didn't _say_ that," he answered, emphasizing the "say". Baiting Cat was so much fun. Almost much as fun as baiting Mara. At least Cat couldn't physically strike at him. Luke had also been careful around an irritated Mara Jade. Leia always saw through his excuses for bruises and black eyes.

Luckily, time ran out on the countdown and instead of responding, Cat eased the _Lotta Luck_ out of hyperspace, a textbook reversion.

"Beautifully done, Cat."

"Of course it was," she snapped.

He didn't answer, opting instead to search for Mara's presence. She was closer, much closer. "That one," he said with certainty, pointing on the map. "Jump to the outer planets."

* * *

Mara guessed that she had been in the speeder for over four hours when it pulled to a stop. Daryn had not been talkative, the opposite of his normal attitude, but it gave Mara the opportunity to study the new landscape. Like what she had seen on Kath'alon, the builds she stared at lacked corners, each glowing into the next like some type of organic creature. The weather had been an unanticipated shock—from orbit, she had expected warm, humid air, since, like Daryn mentioned, the planet hadn't looked much different from old holos of Naboo before the Imperial takeover. Daryn grabbed a small satchel that Mara hadn't noticed before and walked up to the door.

"Konner and I found this place a couple of years ago. Shrigan Security tends to overlook the northern and southern poles and we've been careful not to draw their attention. Few humans stay here, so we'll have to be careful. You'll be spending most of your time indoors." He shrugged. "Sorry. But the lack of surveillance gives us room to maneuver, so we just have to make do. You probably won't mind though, it's too blasted cold to stay out here long. And we've got heaters, finally."

Mara nodded and was glad she had not removed her coat—the added warmth prevented her from shivering. So far.

Daryn walked up to the door and pressed his hand against the keypad for a moment and then quickly punched in a seven-digit code. Mara noticed that the keys were not labeled in Basic, but in flowing characters that she guessed were Shrigan letters. The door slid open after a moment's hesitation and Daryn gestured for her to follow him into the dim building.

"Don't worry, your belongings will be taken to your new room," he said conversationally as he led her through an endless labyrinth of grey hallways and nondescript stairwells. By the time Daryn stopped they were four stories below the surface. The door looked just like all the others she had seen in the building, with the exception of a keypad planted in the center. The Imperial winked at her. "Now's the fun part. Stay out here, I'll introduce you."

He quickly tapped in the code and walked into the office before Mara could say anything. The door closed behind him and she impatiently waited, rubbing her arms through the cloak to keep warm. Sith, Daryn said these people had heaters—didn't they use them?

"She's already here." Mara could just barely hear Daryn through the thin door.

"So I take it she's willing to help?"

"Very willing. She's standing outside. I thought you might want to talk to her immediately."

"Thank you. Bring her in and, Daryn, I want you to stay in the room while she's here. She's been with you for a couple of days and probably would be more comfortable with you here."

"I was under the impression you thought she was strong—I mean, she took out a bunch of their Sec guys."

Mara couldn't hear a verbal response, but she was willing to bet all her credits that Konner had given his friend a first-class glare: _don't question my decisions._

The door slid open and Daryn fought to keep the grin from spreading across his face. "Well, Miss, he wants you to come in."

A black-haired man sat behind the large desk. Although he had matured in the past twelve years, she could still recognize the man she once knew. His facial expression was one of open welcome with a disarming smile, but his deep brown eyes betrayed him. They were not exactly unfriendly, but certainly cautious. His eyes told more than anything else: he was a veteran. He wore a heavy jacket made of some unknown hide over a white shirt and dark grey pants. He stood when she walked in and came around the desk to shake her hand firmly. His coming to her, taking away the desk from between them was supposed to set her at ease.

"Hi, I'm Konner Donteril," he introduced himself. "The heater should kick in soon, so you can take off the cloak." He resumed his seat but Mara remained standing. According to Konner's orders, Daryn hadn't left the room and leaned against the doorjamb.

Mara ignored her audience and pulled the hood back.

Konner's eyes widened in shock and he stumbled to rise out of his chair. "Stars above—what—what are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked with a small smile. "I want off this planet."

He shook his head, seeming to have trouble finding the words. "I mean what happened? How did you get stuck here?"

"Navcomputer glitch," she answered simply. She paused uncomfortably. Neither one knew what exactly to do or say. Exercising tact Mara didn't realize he had, Daryn left the room silently, closing the door behind him. "What about you?"

"Blind jump. Sith, it's been what? Ten, eleven years?"

"About." Another long pause. It had been a long while since Mara had felt so ill at ease with another person. What was she supposed to do?

Konner moved towards her, but then halted awkwardly. Mara knew how he felt. Were they supposed to act as though the past decade had never occurred? How things had changed since the last time they saw each other!

"So, uh, how have you been?" Konner asked.

She forced a smile. "Besides getting captured by the purple people? Eh, not too bad."

* * *

As soon as the lines outside the cockpit viewport shrank back into their individual stars, Luke leaned forward eagerly, as though this motion would speed the _Lotta Luck_ up.

"Calm down, Jedi-boy. We'll find your girlfriend soon enough."

The stress caused from anxiously waiting in hyperspace for what seemed ages seemed to vanish when he felt her presence, a bright beam in the Force. She wasn't aware of his presence yet, so she was probably pre-occupied with something.

Luke released a breath he hadn't realized he had held. He had worried about her, though he had tried to relieve his concerns. She was a strong Force-user, the former Emperor's Hand. She could take care of herself.

And yet he had felt the _Jade's Fire_ shudder under his/her feet during the attack ten days before. He'd felt Mara's determination when the additional enemy ships arrived. He had reason to worry, he consoled himself. The beautiful red-head would not go without a fight, that was certain. But there were so many ships. She was the best, but she couldn't defeat such grossly unfair numbers. Then he'd sensed nothing from her.

He knew she hadn't died—he constantly reminded himself that someone with as strong a Force presence as Mara's could not just disappear. Her death would cause waves and he would _know._ So then why was he so relieved?

Because he didn't want to admit that maybe she had just slipped away from life, from him. Like she was not important.

_Mara? Mara, can you hear me?

* * *

_

Mara realized that she had missed what Konner last said. Someone had called her name, or so she thought. _That's happening quite a bit lately,_ she thought wryly to herself. _Probably just because I'm tired. _She hadn't slept well since she woke on the unfamiliar planet.

"What's wrong?" Konner asked, noticing her sudden inattention.

"Nothing, nothing. Sorry," she said quickly. "You were saying?"

Although he eyed her dubiously, he repeated himself. "We've got a multispecies group together, about forty people. I believe the Emperor would be pleased with this system; although the planets are dominated by Shrigan, they are advanced in a few areas of science. Our scientists would like to examine the technology the Shrigan have discovered. If those damned Rebels ever get to Thyferra, artificial bacta would be real useful."

Emperor? Rebels? Mara's insides turned to ice. "Uh, Konner?" she interrupted weakly. "I guess it's been a while since you've gotten any info from the rest of the galaxy, huh?"

Konner took the seat behind his desk. "Is the Rebellion gone already? Of course," he answered himself. "It's impossible for those bastards to have lasted so long."

Mara decided to go with her nature: blunt. "Emperor Palpatine is dead, and so is to Empire."

He stared at her with wide eyes for a moment before speaking. "The Emperor…? What happened?"

"Darth Vader killed him onboard the second Death Star."

"Second Death Star," he whispered. He had disappeared shortly after the destruction of the original planet-killer. His eyes hardened. "And Vader—he is dead as well?"

"Yes."

He looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"The Rebellion is now in power, as the New Republic."

"The New Republic? They made a _New_ Republic? The Republic was useless before—why create a new one? Those Sith-spawned lunatics! I _knew_ we should have crushed them when the first signs of dissent began," he said in a near-shout, then his voice quieted, though it remained heated. "Those blasted Rebels will destroy everything we worked to create." The former Intel agent put his palms on the desktop, visibly calming himself, taking deep breaths. "You have no idea what it feels like to hear this," he said.

"I know," she answered. "It's different from living it—"

_Mara!_

_Mara, where are you?_

"Oh, no," she breathed, recognizing the voice now. How could she have missed it? Missed _him_? He was near, too near. The Shrigan would find him.

_Skywalker, no!_ she sent back to him._ You have to leave!_

_I'm in the system, Mara. Which planet are you on?_

_Skywalker, you have to leave the system! _she ordered, as strong across the Force as she could. She hadn't imagined that Luke Skywalker would come looking for her. To tell the truth, she hadn't really expected _anyone_ to come looking for her.

_Mara, are you alright? I saw the attack._

_They will attack and board your ship, like they did mine! You have to leave, _now!

* * *

_Skywalker!_

Luke jolted in his seat. Mara was responding to his calls. He had finally succeeded in getting through her walls.

_Mara, are you alright? I saw the attack_. He had promised himself that he would not show his concern to her. She would only be annoyed, but as soon as he heard her "voice" he failed.

_They will attack and board your ship, like they did mine! You have to leave, now!_

Luke jolted out of his telepathic conversation when Cat spoke. "Jedi-boy, we've got a call over the open frequency."

"Put it on," he ordered, sure of what he would hear, courtesy of Mara's warning.

"Unidentified ship, power down immediately or else we will be forced to fire on you."

"Oh. Oops." Luke leaned towards the comm station and touched the transmit button. "Starfighter, this is the _Lotta Luck_. What seems to be the trouble?"

"You have trespassed into our star system. Please power down or we will be forced to fire on you."

So _that_ was what Mara was talking about. He turned off the comm. "Shut off the engines, Cat, you heard the man. Power us down."

"What, aren't you going to kill them all? Just whip out your fancy lightsaber and hack them to pieces?" She sounded surprised. Luke guessed that as a smuggler's ship and droid, she was not accustomed to giving up, instead running away or fighting to protect her contraband. That and the sludgenews she was addicted to gave Cat a very different idea of what he would do.

"I am not here for violence, Cat," he said sternly. "Now do as you're ordered."

"Yes, sir." Her response was like that of a petulant—and yet sarcastic—child.

"Power down immediately or we will fire on you," the starfighter pilot announced again.

Luke pressed the button again so that he would heard over the comm. "Powering down as ordered. Repeat: powering down as ordered."

* * *

"Mara, what's wrong?" Konner asked again, exasperated.

She blinked a few times, trying to remember what Konner had just said. "Huh?"

"What's wrong? You spaced out. Again." He now sat on the edge of the desk in front of her, hands clasped loosely. "Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Yes. Would you be able to send me back to Kath'alon?"

"No. The Shrigan have alerts out for you. They don't like it when 'Newcomers' disappear."

"Someone was just captured, though."

"Who?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Luke Skywalker." She tried not to grimace as he obviously recognized the Rebel hero's name.

* * *

(TygerEye Antilles, Copyright 2005) Please do no use without permission of the writer. 


	8. Chapter 8

**AND NEVER RETURN**

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

"Who?" Konner bit out the query, a dangerous glint in his dark eyes.

"You heard me the first time, Donteril." Mara's jade gaze was unwavering.

A muscle in his cheek twitched. "And how is that you know he's here."

"I'll explain later—"

He cut her off impatiently. "You will explain _now_."

If she backed down to him, then she would have relinquished what control she might have had over the situation, but if she didn't, then they would most likely still be staring coldly at each other by day's end. He could be as stubborn as her. "He's Jedi."

"He's a wanna-be," Konner sneered with a dismissive wave of his hand. "That doesn't answer my question."

"He is a Jedi," she insisted. "We can communicate through the Force." Konner had already known about her Force-sensitivity—he had seen her utilize her talents during missions—but he evidently did not know about Luke's status. _Of course not, Stupid_, she chastised herself. _He hasn't received any news for years. Last he knew, Luke was a boy fresh off the farm who managed to destroy the Death Star. His Force-sensitivity had only been rumors at that point._

So that left the question of whether or not she should completely inform her old friend of certain recent events. Luke Skywalker was the sole Jedi Master in the galaxy, but did Konner need to know that? Would that tidbit cause more trouble than she already knew would manifest itself between the Imperial and the Rebel? Maybe it would be better if Konner thought Luke was just one Jedi of many, making him less of a threat.

"What is he doing here?" Konner was asking as she came to her decision.

"Well, I don't think many people come here to vacation," she said, smiling tightly.

"Don't even try that, Mara. You apparently know him. What is he doing here? Did you call him?"

"No," she answered truthfully, but didn't offer any more information.

"A few days after you arrive, he shows up, and you try to tell me the incidents are unrelated?"

"I never said that. I only told you that I did not call him. He came on his own."

"Quit with the word games, Jade," he warned her quietly. "I'm not in the mood to toy around, not even with you."

The door slid open before Mara could retort and Daryn entered. "Sorry to interrupt you guys, but Triller just commed me. He thinks the Shrigan caught another human. If it's true, he'll be on his way to Kath'alon. Want me to go back?"

Konner looked at Mara, but spoke to Daryn. "Yes. Take the first transport to Kath'alon and I'll have Triller send you the appropriate information after they get Skywalker processed."

"Wait, you already know—Skywalker?" he asked belatedly. "Luke Skywalker?"

"Yeah, Luke Skywalker. Watch where you step on Kath'alon. The Shrigan will be on alert since we stole their last catch. When you get there, you should lay low for a day or two before grabbing Skywalker and getting back here."

"Don't tell me how to do my job, Konner."

"Be careful with Skywalker," Konner warned, unnecessarily.

Daryn tossed a mock-salute to his partner and left he room as quickly as he'd entered.

"You've got some explaining to do, Mara."

Mara's legendary temper flared. "I don't explain myself to anyone, especially not to some two-credit Intel agent."

"Oh, is that so, Jade?" He pushed away from the desk and stood half a pace from her. "You said things have changed. Besides current galactic order and sanity, what else is _so_ different?"

"Many things," she snapped. "Now, I've had a long flight and I was promised a room, not an interrogation."

Konner nodded slowly, as if confirming something to himself and then walked to the door, not looking back but clearly expecting her to follow. Mara rolled her eyes. _Things outside this solar system may have changed, but he still gives me that blasted Imperial arrogance_.

She tried to ignore the fact that, ten years before, she'd have acted the same way as him.

* * *

"So what are we supposed to do now, Jedi-boy?"

"Well, I'm going to wager that they'll 'escort' me off the ship. You should probably hide. I have a feeling they'll either put the _Luck_ in storage, or put her in a scrap heap."

"If they so much as tap my hull with a microfuser…" Cat let her robotic voice trail off with the threat. "Well, let's just say that I am _not_ going to let that happen. Here, memorize this," she said, after a pause, and a comm code appeared on one of the cockpit's datascreens.

He looked it over, committing the eight-symbol code to memory. "Got it. What's it for?"

"Leave your personal comlink here, hidden, and when you've found your girl, call it up and send that code my way and I'll wake up. Until I hear that, I'll remain dormant, to escape whatever scanners they may have." She hesitated. "You better not try to leave me here, Jedi-boy, or there will be hell to pay when I get out. And I _will_ get out."

"I wouldn't dream of leaving you behind, Cat. Don't worry." He flashed her a quick grin. "I'm finally beginning to win that damn game. You really think I'm going to forfeit all our future matches?"

* * *

Luke was grateful when the purple woman, Treneda, brought him a small suitcase along with the news he was to be released. The questioning had lasted the two days, non-stop, since he was taken off the _Lotta Luck_. The interrogation involved the New Republic and the Empire, specifically leadership of both governments. Luke purposely left his own participation out of the history lesson, as well as the Jedi, keeping everything as vague as possible.

It had taken all of his self-control to not say or do anything the Shrigan could construe menacing when the female humanoid explained the rules of the star system to him. It was a good exercise in Jedi serenity. What were these people thinking? Never leave? What about Leia, Han, the kids? His Academy? Wedge, Corran, and all his other friends?

What about all the other people who had been caught in this web of paranoia before him? Had no one escaped yet? That was hard to believe. Determined beings were extremely resourceful.

He had tried to contact his red-haired friend, but after initially checking to make sure he was unhurt, she brushed off his attempts. Last night he had tried to reach her again, this time interrupted by an unfamiliar presence—another Force-sensitive in the vicinity had picked up on him. After that, Luke kept up his mental shields. Mara's overly cautious ways were rubbing off on him. A year before, he would have tried to reach the other person immediately, but this time he decided to play it safe.

"Mr. Skywalker?" Treneda asked. "The vehicle should be here in about five minutes."

"Thanks." He hid his enthusiasm for leaving the strange round room he'd been locked in.

"Also, I have a few questions for you."

Although tempted to try and get a read on Treneda through the Force, he remembered the foreign presence he'd sensed the night prior. "Go ahead," he said, repacking his suitcase.

"We didn't find anything on your ship regarding your profession. We couldn't even access your maps."

"Oh. Yeah." Luke assumed that Cat had sealed the files. A smuggler's droid would have learned a few tricks to keep curious people out of her systems. As long as the Shrigan didn't have good computer slicers, the ship's files, and Cat, would remain hidden. "I, uh, had a power surge when I jumped to hyperspace. Wiped the memory core. You wouldn't be willing to tell me exactly where I am, would you?"

"Kath'alon, in the Qantul System." Her eyes narrowed. "How did you end up in our system, Mr. Skywalker?"

"I guess just a bad hyperspace jump. Everything was fine beforehand," he lied.

"Hm. What was your job in the old galaxy?"

"I was a teacher," he answered, hoping she didn't notice his slight hesitation.

"What did you teach?"

"Some history, some physical education, ethics."

Of course, the history he mentioned was history of the Jedi Knights, stuff he'd learned form Tionne's ballads and other tales directly from the Holocron. But that was merely lying by omission. He was better at that.

Treneda jotted the information down into her datapad and then left the room. Closing the fasteners on the suitcase, Luke followed her out.

He wasn't sure whether he wanted these beings to know about the Jedi Academy. If these people were allied or even sympathetic towards the Empire (which they swore they weren't), then getting rid of the Jedi Master would be a good way to impair the New Republic. Or what if these people just held a grudge against the Jedi? Or, he guessed, it was possible that they revered the Jedi…but something told him that was not the case here. He was glad he'd had the foresight to leave his lightsaber onboard the _Luck_ for safekeeping.

It was awkward not to carry his old weapon, but he would just have to live with that for the time being. The thought of being weaponless was slightly disconcerting. The Shrigan had confiscated the blaster he had worn. A glimmer of a smile appeared on his face when he realized Mara would have been similarly disarmed. That would have been funny to see—what would the Shrigan have said upon recovering a lightsaber, holdout blaster, at least two vibroblades, and her miniature forearm blaster? And those were just standard wear to her. She could have been carrying more when they caught her.

* * *

The general's face turned a brilliant plum and his eyes looked to be in danger of popping out of his skull.

"What do you mean, you _lost_ her?"

Lieutenant Malian Chan'irae hid a cringe at the general's tone. "Sir, we've been searching for days. She just simply disappeared off our scanners. We can't find her." The younger officer spread her hands complacently.

"How could you let a mere _human_ get the better of you like that?"

"She had outside help, sir! We traced a call she made before she checked in to the Newcomer's Hotel. To Alyro Telikna."

The man's head snapped up. "The Resistance leader?" That wasn't entirely accurate—just a theory. There was no hard proof that the small-time human author had anything to do with the whispered Newcomer Resistance group. Just rumors.

They couldn't even question Telikna themselves. As far as they knew, the man could be dead, or never even have existed.

"That Alyro Telikna, sir," she nodded.

"Hmm…" The general began to walk around the small room crammed full of mechanical devices and computer parts. "How did Miss Jade know about Telikna? Did she have any contact with someone other than our personnel?"

"Not that we know of, sir."

"Then _how did she know?_" he demanded. "I want to speak to everyone who so much as got a glimpse of this human!"

"Yes, sir."

The general noted the young woman's hesitation. "You wanted to add something, Lieutenant?"

"The Newcomer, the male human, sir? What if Telikna tries to contact him, too?"

"Very good point, Lieutenant. I want security doubled at the Hotel. Have cameras installed in the lift, halls, and his room. I want someone watching him at all times. I don't want him to take a breath without us knowing and being able to measure the amount of air he inhales. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

Treneda left Luke standing in the front hallway of his temporary apartment. As soon as the door slid closed behind him, he dropped his suitcase by the door and wandered into the living room, giving himself a quick tour of the suite. There was a flatscreen that when activated offered a multitude of selections from the Kath'alon Public Library. The communications station looked much like the ones in the rest of the galaxy, if a bit outdated. He glanced into the various rooms; along with the common living area, there was a bedroom, miniature kitchen, and small refresher.

Each room was painted a washed-out hue of green and the ceilings were round, like they had been in the Medical Center. Had he not seen the outside of the hotel, he would have imagined it more resembled an insect's egg sac than a normal rectangular building, judging by the irregular shape of its rooms.

Luke eventually settled on the couch and closed his eyes. He reached out with the Force almost tentatively, but when he felt nothing respond to his gentle probe, he actively looked for Mara's presence. He could feel enough distance between the two of them to determine that the Trader had to be on one of the other planets. Mara immediately responded when she felt his presence.

_It's about time you took down your barriers, Skywalker. I've been trying to reach you._

_Nice to see you, too, Jade. And how are you this fine morning?_

Mara ignored his playful comments. _I know how to get out of the Qantul system._

_How is that?_ He turned serious.

_There's a man here. I used to work with him. He's leading a group of non-natives who are trying to escape._

_Good. Where are you and how do I get there?_

_I'm on Eqiirsa. I wanted to go back to Kath'alon, but Konner wouldn't let me. There's going to be a man named Daryn who will try to talk to you when you reach the Newcomer's Hotel. Do what he says and he'll bring you here._

_Daryn?_

_Yes._

_Got it. See you soon, Mara._

When Mara cut their connection, Luke sank into the cushions on his couch. He hadn't been able to pick up much more than surface impressions, but what he could sense was encouraging. She was angry, probably from being captured and the damage done to her _Fire_, but Mara had always been able to concentrate on the job at hand before allowing herself to release distracting emotions. Of course, when she let herself fully vent…well, Luke would just have to make sure she was not armed.

* * *

Mara was wandering the halls of Konner's underground base when Luke finally reached out for her. She had tried to contact him several times prior to that, but he retracted his Force presence as much as possible. Mara, familiar with the "feel" of his mind, didn't have to waste a second before locating the Jedi Master.

She still wasn't exactly sure why she originally contacted him. There was no real purpose to it; she just wanted to know that he was unhurt. The only explanation she could think of was because he had come after and she would have felt slightly guilty had he been injured when trying to help her. Not that she would show any guilt, of course. She hid a smile and turned to walk to her room. Luke would know how she felt, no matter how she denied it. He always had been able to see past her façade.

She hadn't gone five paces when she halted. Something wasn't right. Not sensing anything that would cause the reaction, she brushed the feeling away and continued on her way.

Her unease grew, but Mara couldn't figure out where it came from.

With the suddenness of an unexpected blow, it hit her.

Luke was being watched.

What, did she and Konner believe the Shrigan were fools? She had underestimated the humanoids. Certainly they at least _knew of_ Konner's group. They at least _suspected_ that Mara had been recruited. That must be one of their ideas explaining her sudden disappearance.

Wouldn't they suspect that Konner might try to get Luke Skywalker as well?

"Call Daryn back!" she shouted as she reached Konner's office.

* * *

(TygerEye Antilles, Copyright 2005) Please do not use without permission of the writer. 


	9. Chapter 9

**AND NEVER RETURN**

**CHAPTER NINE**

Malian Chan'irae sat back in her chair and put her feet up on the table. The general had assigned her here to watch Luke Skywalker. It was a dull assignment but experience had taught her to always be prepared. Therefore, along with the screens and scanners was plenty of stimcaf, snacks, and crossword puzzles.

Four letter word for a male Alderaani leader…

"Ma'am, there's an unidentified human male at Skywalker's apartment."

Malian put down her puzzle. "Keep an eye on him. This might be Amet—Telikna. Could be Telikna." She glanced at the younger man, but he didn't seem to notice her slip.

* * *

Luke was woken from his light nap by knocking. Rubbing his eyes, he walked over to the door and tripped over his suitcase. Resisting the urge to curse, he kicked the cheap case out of the way and answered the door. A man about his age stood on the other side. He had brown hair pulled back in a short ponytail and blue eyes. Luke hesitated when he looked into the man's face, struck with a sense of recognition. He brushed the feeling away after a moment, realizing that this man was not the one he thought he was. It was just a strong resemblance. Must have been the hair or cheekbones or something. 

"Mister Skywalker?"

"Yes?"

The man extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Daryn. I'm one of your neighbors."

"Check on that," the security officer told her underling. "See if there's a 'Daryn' renting a room somewhere in the building and get a background check if there is. Have Security standing by."

_Luke!_

Luke jolted in surprise at Mara's clear voice in his head. He'd retracted his presence again, but she had found him and broken through the barriers.

_Tell Daryn to leave!_

_Why? Mara, what's wrong?_

_Just do it, Skywalker,_ she ordered.

Luke snapped his attention from Mara's voice in his head to Daryn. The other man offered him some refreshments in his apartment.

"I'm sorry, I'm kind of busy right now," Luke found himself saying. "Maybe some other time?" Luke sent a tendril of the Force to search for whatever may have caused Mara's change of instructions.

Daryn nodded slowly, then told him, "I'm in the apartment next door, if you need a guide to the city. I'm here for another couple of days."

"Thanks," Luke responded and closed the door as Daryn walked away. As he headed back to his couch, he touched Mara's presence, which had not gone far, as if she'd been monitoring the conversation.

_You going to explain this to me now? _he asked.

_You're being watched._

_What? Why? _The simple answer came to mind. _To find the resistance group. Blast, I hadn't even considered that. Are you going to tell Daryn to get out of here?_

_We can't. Konner doesn't want to risk him getting caught, so he won't contact him at all. Look, you need to meet with Daryn, but somewhere away from your apartment. They've probably got holocams installed in your rooms._

_Got it._ He cut their conversation and took a few minutes to wander through his apartment, looking in various cabinets, putting on a show of general boredom for the possible watchers. After about ten minutes, he pulled on a new dark cloak and left his apartment to wakl over to Daryn's suite. The other man opened his door and didn't seem surprised at all to see Luke there.

"I was wondering if you'd show me some of the local places? If you weren't busy," Luke asked.

"Sure. Here, let me get my coat and we'll be off."

* * *

Malian paced the length of the room. "Get someone out there to follow them. I can't lose this one."

* * *

Daryn played the role of tour guide well, although Luke wasn't paying much attention. He immediately sensed the Shrigan following them. Gently probing the humanoid's mind, he felt the fierce determination she had to prove herself to her superior officer. She was a rookie and not very well thought of in the Kath'alon Security organization. If she could catch the Resistance leader trying to recruit the new male human, then she would be promoted and definitely have something to brag about during the stim-tea breaks at work. It was the same determination found anywhere else in the galaxy. This was her big chance. 

Luke was thinking of a way to escape the shadow when Daryn steered him towards a crowd waiting to enter one of the public transportation vehicles.

"Meet me at the bar next street down," Daryn muttered. Luke barely understood what he said, but if _he_ had trouble hearing and he was standing right next to him, then the odds that they would be overheard were exceptionally slim. "Called the Kath'alon Midnight. I'll be there in ten minutes. If I'm not there within twenty, call it off and go back to your apartment. You haven't done anything illegal…yet." Evidently Daryn had noticed the shadow as well. Luke wondered momentarily what profession this man had before he'd gotten caught in Qantul. Was he a mercenary of some sort?

When they reached the crowd, Daryn said, "Now, go," and then he disappeared among the numerous people. Luke waded through the crowd until he was near the middle and then reached out for the Shrigan woman again. She had gotten slightly confused as to her "mark" when he entered the large crowd, since most of the group wore cloaks to shelter themselves from the light rain. However, she thought she recognized the shade of blue the blond human wore and her attention was still accurately on him. Luke pressed her mind a little with the Force, simply adding to her indecision until she doubted her original choice. She found another being to watch, one towards the outside of the group and began to shadow him when he wandered away from the transport. Luke felt somewhat bad about messing up the rookie's chances for a promotion this time, but his task at hand was catching up with Mara. The novice would have other chances to get the recognition she craved.

Luke stayed with the crowd a while longer, searching carefully for anyone else studying the group like his shadow had. When the group of beings began to barod the large vehicle, Luke joined a group who had exited the transport and strode down the street Daryn indicated.

He found the Kath'alon Midnight, a dimly lit bar that could be a twin to almost any other cantina in the galaxy. It was mostly empty, with only three other patrons, all glued to the flatscreen on the other side of the room. Unnoticed, he chose a table in the back corner. Han had taught him to do this: to select seats where no one could sneak up on you and you could see the entire room. Daryn showed up a minute later and slipped into the seat across from Luke.

"They lost you?" he asked immediately. Luke answered with a single nod. "Good." He waved over a waitress and ordered two glasses of lum.

"Mara told me she would talk to you before I showed up," Daryn began. Luke nodded again and the brown-haired man continued. "So you're planning to go through with this, right?" he asked nonchalantly. He didn't keep his attention solely on Luke, glancing at the menu and list of alcoholic beverages displayed prominently on the wall.

"Yes."

"Great." He placed a small green packet on the tabletop. "Add this to your drink and then down the liquor. It'll taste bad, but do it."

"What does it to?" Luke asked. He could barely keep suspicion from his voice though he tried to imitate Daryn's uncaring demeanor.

"Takes you off their scanners. You have to drink it before I take you off planet. Understand?" He smiled flirtatiously at the waitress when she returned with their glasses. "Thanks."

"Can I get anything else for you, gentlemen?" Daryn waved her off and turned his attention solely to Luke.

Luke opened the packet and dumped its contents into his glass.

* * *

(TygerEye Antilles, Copyright 2005) Please do not use without permission of the writer. 


	10. Chapter 10

**AND NEVER RETURN**

**CHAPTER TEN**

_**Author's Note: **Special thanks to my new roommate, Azelynn Blackwell, who helped me with this chapter (mainly deciding Daryn's rather oddball though creative excuse)._

Daryn drummed his fingertips on the transparisteel window and watched dispassionately as Kath'alon again disappeared beneath the clouds. Hopefully this would be the last time he would have to be on that gods-forsaken planet. Kath'alon reminded him too strongly of Xa Fel, where he had been stationed for three months.

It still amazed Daryn how his Intel career had begun. His stormtrooper regiment had been posted on Xa Fel to protect the scientists there. He had pulled some strings and spent leave on nearby Kuat. It was luck, pure and simple, that Daryn was leaving a seedy bar and ran right into a young man, barely conscious, blood seeping from a head wound. He kept muttering that his mission was of absolute importance. Forewarned of vicious street gangs, Daryn decided to take the injured man to his hotel room. It hadn't taken much for him to guess what the man's mission was—rumors of a Rebel group on Kuat had been circulating on Xa Fel for months.

By the time, Konner woke, Daryn had stopped caring that his leave only lasted one more day and decided to help this determined man finish his job. Konner tried to sneak out to retrieve a datacard he'd left behind, but he was barely strong enough to leave the bed.

Daryn stifled a smirk behind his hand. He had been careless, practically just sauntering into the bar and up to the suspected Rebel contact. He was lucky to not have become target practice. He had laid down a story so full of nerf shit he could almost smell it himself. The woman looked him over with a hostile eye and Daryn was certain she would refuse. But apparently it wasn't unusual for a person on Kuat to help a grandmother cross a street and be run over by a deathstick dealer speeding away from a scene of a robbery. The woman "inconspicuously" slid the datacard across the table with a mug of lomin-ale.

Konner had been impressed and insisted that Daryn accompany him when he returned to headquarters. And thus began Daryn Amet's Imperial Intelligence career. It was unexpected, to say the least. One day he was a stormtrooper patrolling Xa Fel without much of a future, and with just a few choices, he was put through the Intel academy on the Empire's credit and partnered with Konner Donteril, the man he'd saved and also considered one of, if not _the_ brightest agent in years.

And now he was stuck in the Qantul system. Stretching his legs, he spared a sideways at Skywalker, who had fallen asleep almost immediately. At least Daryn was assured that Skywalker was unarmed. Kath'alon's automated security ensured that no one boarded their ships with any weaponry.

If someone had told Daryn while he was in the stormtrooper academy on Carida that one day he would sit next to the most hated man in the Empire and they wouldn't be hostile to each other, he would have punched the bastard's lights out. As it was, Lady Fate had a strange sense of humor.

* * *

"You never used to show nervousness before," Konner commented off-handedly. Mara stopped, one foot in midair.

"Excuse me?"

"You're pacing. Obvious evidence of nerves." He straightened up in his chair to stretch, and then slouched again. "Don't worry about Skywalker. Daryn's the best. He'll get your _Jedi_ here."

"My Jedi," she snorted. "He's not _my_ Jedi. And that man always finds a way to get into trouble." She sighed and sat on the edge of Konner's desk.

Almost two days had passed as Mara impatiently awaited Luke's arrival on Eqiirsa. At first Konner had ordered her "confined to quarters" until the Rebel landed, but Mara grew bored with her room, sliced into the lock mechanism on her door and decided to take a self-guided tour through the underground base. It came as a surprise to Mara when she only ran into two other people. This _was_ Konner's headquarters, wasn't it? Where was everyone?

She finally found her way down to Konner's office and was in the process of overriding that keypad when the Imperial himself showed up and invited her in for a cup of caf. He didn't even mention the fact that she was supposed to be locked in her room, instead opting to ask, "So, what's been going on since I tumbled off the face of the galaxy?"

Mara tried to use the tact she'd skipped earlier as she filled Konner in on the major events in the rest of the galaxy since the destruction of the first Death Star. She skipped over Luke's importance and instead highlighted the incompetence of the Imperial leaders, except for Grand Admiral Thrawn. Konner had been an apt listener, with few though intelligent questions.

It wasn't until news came in that Daryn's flight was expected to arrive that she and Konner lapsed into uncomfortable silence again. She had only vaguely mentioned how she and Skywalker knew each other, and Konner must have known she was keeping things from him.

A man's voice through the comm brought a welcome distraction. "Sir, Daryn Amet's just shown up. He has another person with 'im. Don't have a good visual, sir, the guy's wearin' a hood."

"Let them in." Konner pulled his hand away form the comm unit. "See? I told you Daryn would bring him here. No need to worry."

"Who's worried?" Mara muttered, but then she asked, "Is that standard procedure here? You guys have a watchman?" She hadn't seen any cameras outside the door when she and Daryn entered.

"No. Normally it's just the outside keypad."

"Why's today special?"

"Not today; just this afternoon," Konner corrected. "When you sliced into your door, you set off our alarms. I had to put Gets on watchman detail until we reset the system. Daryn and your buddy get to enter through our manual door, about a quarter a mile in that direction." Konner gestured vaguely. "Good thing it's warm in here, because they are going to want to defrost after this inconvenience."

"There wouldn't be an 'inconvenience' if you hadn't locked me in my room."

"Correction, there wouldn't be an inconvenience if you hadn't sliced your way out of the room which we locked you in for very good reasons."

"Like?"

"You're new here, Mara. I can't just let you wander around without an escort."

"What, you think I'm going to sabotage the best chance I have to get off this planet? I don't think so."

Konner gave her a look that clearly stated "Drop it." Mara rolled her eyes.

"You aren't thinking logically."

"You don't and can't know what I'm thinking, Jade." His voice grew colder.

"You don't know whether or not to trust me anymore," she retorted. "And I know that because I've been thinking the same thing since I saw your name on that datacard."

Konner opened his mouth to retort, but the door opened and in walked Luke Skywalker.

* * *

Luke released the tight hold he had on his Force presence when he entered the dark building. He was grateful the walls protected him from the freezing wind that had nearly blown him off his feet and cut into his skin despite the cloak he had wrapped around his body. He made a mental note to get warmer clothing if he was going to have to stay on Eqiirsa for long.

He could feel Mara's bright presence meters beneath him and tried to be patient as Daryn led him down staircases and through long corridors. They double-backed a few times and Daryn off-handedly explained that it was because he didn't know his way in through the back entrance as well.

Luke clearly heard the lie and wondered if Daryn was deliberately trying to skew his sense of direction and get him completely lost. If that was his intention, Luke had to grudgingly admit, he was successful.

Finally the taller man stopped outside of yet another door and punched in a code to open it. He gestured for Luke to enter.

The first thing Luke noticed was that the room was much warmer than the hallway. The next was Mara. She sat on the edge of the desk in the center of the office. She looked fine, dressed in a loose long-sleeved tunic and skirt. Her boots dangled just above the floor and her hair was pulled back tightly. Luke surprised himself at the relief that washed over him at her sight.

"You're okay?" he asked. He studied her, looking for any sign of injury.

"Yeah. You?"

"Okay." There was another man in the room. This man was taller than Luke and had short black hair and dark brown eyes. His eyes were the most striking feature in his handsome face—Luke immediately recognized the intelligence in them. This man was the leader. "I'm Luke Skywalker. I want to thank you for your help, Mr..."

"Donteril, Konner Donteril. I know very well who you _are_, Skywalker." The way Konner spoke, it was almost a threat. "Jade here has caught me up on current events. She's also told me that you're a pilot and a fair mechanic."

"That's true," Luke confirmed.

"What have you flown?"

"X-wings, primarily. Uh, various shuttles, like the _Lambda _class. Snowspeeders, skyhoppers…Give me a few minutes and I can fly just about anything."

"Overconfidence is not something I would expect from a Jedi Knight, Skywalker. Aren't Jedi supposed to be _humble?_"

Luke noted the man's Coruscant accent—if it was true and there hadn't been a Newcomer in over eight years, this man was Imperial. Mara had mentioned she'd worked with Konner before. "I—"

"You _are _a Jedi, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am." There wasn't much else he could say. He glanced over at Mara, who seemed bored with the entire exchange. She would warn him if something were wrong. Evidently Mara considered it important to reveal Luke as a Force-user. Did Konner also know of Mara's Jedi potential?

"So for that reason alone I should help you escape the Qantul system?" An added lilt to his voice let Luke know Konner wanted an answer. The man was testing him.

"No. Apparently you believe the same thing I do. The Shrigan shouldn't keep people here against their will. It's because I do not want to stay here that I should be allowed to leave."

"You don't think your rank as Jedi should give you special treatment?"

"No."

Konner smiled briefly. "Good, because we don't give special treatment. If you want out of here, you have to work as hard as the rest of us."

"I wouldn't have expected anything less."

"We wouldn't accept anything less," was Konner's quick reply.

"Boys," Mara scowled, finally entering the conversation. "Are you finished yet? Both of you want to get out of this system as much as I do, so how about we cut the crap and get to work?"

"Of course, Mara," Konner responded, never looking away from Luke. "First of all, I figure it's best to introduce you to some of the people you'll be working with."

Konner typed something into the computer console on his desk, then led the two Jedi out of his office and back up the hall. Luke shivered a little and pulled the cloak around himself more. He walked next to Mara.

_You sure you're okay?_ he asked.

_Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I be? My question is, why are _you_ here?_ she snapped, irritated.

_Daryn brought me here._

The glare Mara sent him could have frozen Tatooine's twin suns. "You know what I meant, Skywalker. Why are you in the Qantul system? Look, I can get myself out of trouble _without_ your help. Now that you had to go and play 'hero', I have to get your ass out of here as well."

"Hey, I'm perfectly capable of—"

"Are you two finished yet?" Donteril asked politely, using Mara's own words. They were standing outside another door painted the same durasteel shade as the hallways. Luke realized that he and Mara had switched from using the Force to a verbal argument. He wondered how much had been said out loud.

Mara gave the Imperial one of her patented glares as he pushed open the door, revealing a large room. There were machines all around the room that looked like food synthesizers and one was definitely a caf machine as a tall Bothan balanced three mugs back to the rectangular table that was the focus of the room.

Six beings milled around, chatting with each other and scanning datapads. When the door opened, they glanced up at Konner, but took a second look when they saw the two new people. Daryn Amet entered the break room through the only other door, and a caf cup was pushed into his hands by the Bothan woman.

Certain he had everyone's attention, Konner started the meeting. "These are the two Newcomers: Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker. Both have joined our group."

"The woman we have all heard of," a woman said loudly. "But this man's an unknown. The woman will be useful, but no one even _knew_ about this guy."

_They've heard of you?_ Luke asked Mara.

She glanced at him briefly with her response: _I took out a couple of the Shrigan's ships, as well as five of their boarding crew._

_Only three? _he asked, sarcastically.

_I would have taken out more had one not gotten lucky_, she answered with a feral smile.

_You were hurt? What happened?_ he tried to sound conversational, but the worry slipped out anyway.

Mara gave him a look that clearly stated, "Leave it alone."

Konner had continued speaking, unaware of their silent conversation. "I've seen Skywalker in the air," he lied easily. "He's a strong pilot and will be in charge of Ship Three."

"And the redhead? Is she a pilot as well? We have enough pilots, Donteril," the woman continued to argue. "We don't need any more people in the control group. Especially not people who have barely been here a week."

"Jade will fill in wherever necessary, Ekata. I've known Mara for years and she is qualified to step in for any of our places." Konner's tone was matter-of-fact, but it was an open warning to Ekata to be quiet and stop questioning him. Her resulting silence and sullen look told the Jedi Master that Konner had won the disagreement.

"As you all know, Mara and Luke are recent arrivals, but they both offered their talents. They will be in the control group with us." His tone made it clear he would welcome no dissent on the matter. "Now, I called all of you in not only to introduce you to our newest people, but to confirm that, yes, our time is nearing."

There were a few murmurs, quieted quickly as Konner continued to speak.

"Deinara Reliqa will be joining us in an hour or two and you will be given the information directly. Deinara is the one we have on the 'inside'," the Intel agent explained for the Jedi's benefit. "She can explain all when she arrives. As for right now—"

"Deinara is coming as well?" Ekata interrupted. "You bring three new people here? What happened to your caution?"

"Deinara has been with us for years. She is not new," Konner said, his eyes narrowing.

"We have never met her."

"She has been giving us important information for years."

"Supposedly. All we know is that an anonymous person had been sending us useful info. We never even got a name until two months ago."

"That is _enough_, Ekata," he said firmly. He purposefully turned away from her to Luke and Mara. "To begin our introductions, this is Ekata Da'lan." The outspoken red Twi'lek nodded her head in acknowledgement. "She is one of our pilots. Ship One. Fyzenkre'nat is our navigator. He's in charge of giving us our coordinates, since the navcomps here seem rather primitive. Fyzen will also copilot Ship One." Luke guessed that Fyzen was the blue-skinned man with his arm around Ekata's waist. His _lekku_ twitched nervously and Ekata gently patted his arm.

"Montrina Elebne," this time Konner gestured to the human woman, "is an experienced mechanic." The woman's face was hard, her expression hostile. Her brown hair was cropped short and her forearms, crossed over her chest, were bigger than Luke's. Despite standing six feet, she was dwarfed by the black and silver Wookiee behind her. "And that's Krezelaak. He's learned from Montrina to be a competent mechanic. He and Montrina will check out both ships before we board. Unfortunately Krezelaak doesn't speak Basic, though he understands it fluently. Montrina can translate Wookiee relatively well, if you need to talk to him."

Luke opened his mouth to say that he also understood Wookiee, but Mara nudged him.

"Shendre Kouleet and his daughter," the Bothan man lifted his caf mug to Luke and Mara and attractive tan-furred woman gave a short wave. "Shendre is in charge of Ship Two. Kalika will be his copilot.

"Triller Fontel…where is Triller?" Konner glanced around. "He was supposed to be here," his voice dropped, "_the little twerp_…" A squat green Rodian pushed his way to the front. Luke hadn't even noticed him before. "Triller, good to see you away from your computer. Triller is in charge of communications. He's also our slicer."

Konner looked at everyone in turn, then spoke to Luke and Mara. "This is our point team. We have a little over three dozen more members, but they can't help us with this part."

"How many non-Shrigan live in the system?" Luke asked. He could understand why some people would be reluctant to leave a planet they'd lived on for years.

"It's unusual for people to stumble across the system, but one of the Shrigan's catches was a cruise ship, like twenty-five years ago. There are just shy of five hundred people, but many of those are descendants and they refuse to leave the only home they know. Almost all of the people we talked to didn't want anything to do with us. Any who wanted to join us have a seat on one of the three ships." The small comlink attached to Konner's collar beeped and he flicked it on. "Yes?"

He listened for a minute, then cursed. "Alright, thanks." He turned to the group.

"Change of plans. Deinara can't make it right now, so we're going to cut this meeting short. Daryn, I need to speak with you. The rest, dismissed."

* * *

(TygerEye Antilles, Copyright 2005) Please do not use without permission of the writer. 


	11. Chapter 11

**AND NEVER RETURN**

**CHAPTER ELEVEN

* * *

**

The majority of Eqiirsa boasted a warm, tropic climate similar to Ithor. In contrast, its poles were the complete opposite, with frigid air and moisture only in the form of sleet and snow. Even after five chilly years of residency, Daryn Amet was not completely accustomed to the nights.

_It could be worse_, he comforted himself. _The meeting could've been outside._ Instead, he was seated at a small shadowed table near the door of one of the area's drinking establishments, the Triple Moon. Konner had arranged another meeting with the Shrigan woman, and although he claimed to trust the lady, he had no reason to push his luck—hence, Daryn's presence. Should anything look "off" to him, he'd give Konner a double tap on the comlink, and they would both exit. Just like when Daryn would have his blaster in his lap, keeping an eye on a Rebel informant who may or may not be a counter-intelligence agent…ah, the good ol' days.

Daryn downed the rest of his drink in one gulp and glanced towards the mismatched pair sitting at a corner table. He couldn't see much of the Shrigan woman since she had her back to him, but he could see Konner's impassive expression as he spoke quietly with her. His own drink was untouched and the only sign of tension in the former Imperial agent was the way his right hand always stayed within easy access of his blaster.

Unfortunately, though, the Triple Moon had weapons detectors, and the Resistance had not found a way past that, so the partners were unarmed, as well as the informant. Daryn allowed his mind to wander, unable to do much more as he casually watched the duo as well as the rest of the cantina. What was she doing here? Why would she turn traitor?

The Telos native wasn't complaining—if a Shrigan was willing to help him and the rest of the group out, he was glad. But he at least liked to know the motive behind it all. He and Konner had formed the Resistance so they could escape. The other humans and aliens who made up the group joined so that they, too, could leave. The same with Mara Jade and that Rebel. But he didn't know why this woman would help them.

What if this was some ploy, some trap set by the Shrigan Security Agency?

Maybe he was reading a little too much into all this. If the woman wanted to help, why should he interrogate her?

Why had she cancelled their earlier meeting? Had she changed her mind about the Resistance? What was it that she and Konner were discussing now?

Konner glanced past the woman, directly meeting Daryn's eyes, before letting his gaze continue around the room. A slight nod stated that the meeting was over and to head out to the speeder. Daryn stretched, acknowledging the order, and then dropped a few circular credits on the table to pay for his drink, and left.

Daryn waited out in the speeder for nearly ten minutes and was getting ready to go back in to make sure nothing had happened to his friend when Konner walked out.

"Damn, Kon, I though the Shrigan had finally caught you, you took so long," he said, grinning as Konner pulled his door shut.

Konner was silent for a moment, and then seemed to realize Daryn had spoken. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I thought the Shrigan finally caught you."

"Not in your life, Amet."

Daryn glanced over at his friend's vehement response, but brushed it off when he saw Konner staring out the window. It must have been a difficult meeting.

* * *

Towards the end of the usual dinner hour, Mara wandered into the dining room. There were only a few people in there, most of them sitting in a loose group on the opposite side of the room. Mara stifled a laugh when she saw Skywalker sitting alone at a table—for one brief moment, she was strongly reminded of a young boy sitting alone in the cafeteria at school. It took less than a minute to grab some of the synthesized food, and she slid into the seat across from her friend.

"How long have you been in here?" she asked, eyeing his full plate.

"Only a few minutes."

"And is that your second helping or third?"

"For your information," he said, trying to mimic the haughty nasal tone of a Kuati noble, "it is still my first."

"Really?" she asked, hiding a smile. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, of course," he replied. "Why would you think otherwise?"

Mara raised an eyebrow at his quick defensive remark. "It was a joke, Skywalker. Surely you had those on Tatooine?"

"Occasionally. More often than rainfall." Luke easily fell into their old routine.

"Oh, good. So that's why your sense of humor is so sporadic and dry."

The Jedi Master let out a laugh. "_My _sense of humor is sporadic and dry? I never even saw you laugh until we'd known each other for almost a year. Even still, your jokes usually have something to do with us dying, or at least involving bodily injury to someone, namely me."

"Don't blame me if you don't share my humor. It just shows that you lacked my more colorful upbringing."

"Checkered, you mean."

"Well, that too." Mara couldn't hide her smile any longer. "But it adds flavor, you know?"

"Couldn't imagine you without it."

"Thanks." Mara speared a piece of unidentifiable meat. "I have a question for you."

Her tone changed from playful to businesslike, and Luke knew what her query would be. _Sith, and we were just beginning to have fun._ "Shoot," he said, warily.

"What in all seven levels of hell are you doing here?" she asked, staring into his eyes.

He grabbed his glass of water, disguising his unease. "Well, I was worried about you," he said simply.

"You were worried about me."

"I saw a…a vision of you when the _Fire_ was attacked. I—I can't really explain it, I just felt that I had to come find you." _Here it comes…_

"So you jumped on a ship and raced blindly after me because you didn't think I could take care of myself?" She snorted, a very un-lady-like sound. "You and your hero complex."

At least she didn't realize the actual reason behind his actions. Though it might be interesting to see what she would say. It was apparent to him that she had already gone through this conversation in her head, and she guessed what he would say. So far he had followed her roadmap.

"I_ know_ you can take care of yourself, Mara." He realized he was nearly shouting, and lowered his voice, studiously ignoring the other table that had glanced over at the quarreling duo. Blast if this woman couldn't drive him insane. "You're always the one who saves _my_ ass, as you've reminded me repeatedly."

"So then why did you come?" she hissed.

"Aren't I allowed to help my _best friend_, damn it?" he asked. "Like it or not, I try to protect those I care about."

The Trader was quiet for a moment. She wasn't quite sure how to answer, and Luke wondered whether he'd given too much away. "I guess I should be grateful _someone_ cares when I disappear."

"Talon called me when the _Fire_ didn't show up. I'm not the only one who cares about you, Mara." He suddenly didn't want to continue the conversation. He stood up and tossed his empty plate into the trash receptacle. "I'm heading back to my room. Good night, Mara."

"Oh. Okay." She didn't look up at him.

The redhead finished the rest of her meal quickly, and with nothing better to do, she decided to give herself a tour of the building. Experience had taught her that it was best to know her surroundings, and contemplate emotions later.

If ever.

* * *

Daryn was walking down one of the bland hallways to his quarters when he was grabbed by the front of his shirt and yanked into a darkened room. Before he could retaliate, he was shoved against the wall and soft lips descended on his. With one hand, he slapped the controls to close the door while his other hand slid behind her neck to pull her closer.

When they broke for air, Daryn managed to ask, "What about your roommate?"

Kalika smiled in the darkness. "She was eating with the Jedi. They seemed to be in deep discussion, so I figured this was the perfect time to talk."

"…To talk?"

"Yes, Daryn. Talk. Have a conversation." She playfully pushed him away. "You men have only one thing on your mind."

"Well, when you start the _conversation_ the way you do, it's no wonder I was distracted." Even though he wanted nothing more than to gather her in his arms again, he sat in the single chair inside the room and took a deep breath. "What do you want to talk about?"

Kalika perched lightly on the armrest. Neither bothered to activate the glowlamps—the extra light wasn't necessary, with the triple moons shining through the single window. "You saw the Shrigan woman again?"

"Not really. I mean, Konner talked to her. I just stood watch. Why?"

"I was just curious. You rarely disappear during the dinner hour." He could hear her smile.

"Well, it's not like Konner gave me a choice."

"Of course not."

Daryn frowned. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that it seems that you always do just what Mr. Donteril orders you to."

"I do. He's the boss."

"I thought you were partners."

"He has more experience with this kind of stuff."

"And yet the only reason he even reached his twentieth birthday was because of you."

"It's just the way it's always been, Kalika. Even when we were paired together for Intel missions, he was always the brains, and I did the legwork." Kalika was one of the few in Qantul who knew what Konner and Daryn's earlier profession had been.

"You're oversimplifying your position," Kalika told him, placing a hand on his shoulder, relishing just that small contact. "Konner wouldn't be able to successfully plan the most simple of infiltrations without your input."

"You'd be surprised. Konner can blend in nearly anywhere, with or without me."

"Except here."

"That's different. Here, we're the minority, and we're carefully watched. No human could get past their Security without inside help. We've tried."

"Which is what the Shrigan woman is doing."

"Yes." He frowned. Where was Kalika trying to go with this? He vocalized his question.

"I'm not sure," she answered, "but something is just wrong."

"I think you're reading too much into this. Look, Kalika, if it weren't for that woman, we'd be no further along than we were five years ago."

"I'm very well aware of that, Daryn!" she snapped, her fur bristling. "You're not listening to me. I understand that she's important and all that rot, but I want to know why she's doing it."

"I don't know. She probably just doesn't agree with her government's laws."

"I've studied the Shrigan culture for seven years now," she said, looking towards the window. "Their government is the most important structure in their lives. No one would so willingly betray it, especially not this way.

"As far as I can tell, the Shrigan had been dragged into a war within the Republic at least two, three, four hundred years ago, probably more. From the few records Triller's found for me, I've found similarities in their accounts and those from the Mandalorian Wars, or maybe the Sith War around that era."

"The Mandalorians--! Sith, that was at least four _thousand _years ago! You're saying they're still licking their wounds from _millennia_ ago?"

"I'm not certain. That's just my theory. Most records are likely either hidden away in a safe or something, or have been destroyed. It's like, the Shrigan use their past to explain their current actions, but at the same time, they're trying to erase that past."

"Makes you wonder why," Daryn mused.

"You can hypothesize all you want on that, but the point I'm trying to make is that it has been deeply ingrained since childhood that if one Newcomer escapes, then the wars from the outside galaxy will drag the Shrigan back to massive bloodshed and destruction. They are happy to have us here, but we cannot leave. That's just the way it is. For a Shrigan to go against that law is the considered the worst form of treason, right up there with the assassination of their Triumvirate."

"You want to know what would cause this woman to throw away all the rules."

"Is that so much to ask? I want to know her motives." She unknowingly echoed his early thoughts.

"I'm not sure. You know, they have a saying on my planet: don't count the tail rings on a gift Zylonian monkey."

Kalika looked down at him. "What?" she asked, the corners of her mouth quirking upwards.

"Don't count the tail rings on a gift Zylonian monkey. See, as a Zylonian monkey ages, his tail grows these purple rings around it. So if someone gives you a monkey as a present, it's rude to count the rings to see how old the animal is."

"Okay…"

"You mean that Bothans don't have a saying like that? I mean, you would think that was your life motto, with all the politicians and spies that emerge from your society. No offense."

"None taken, but you have to understand that there's no such thing as a true gift in my society. Everything you do will be paid back."

"Such a cynical species."

"I'm not cynical—"

He quieted her with a kiss. "So everything you do is paid back, huh?" He grinned. "I think I'll have to pay you back for what you did to me earlier."

"Daryn…" she protested, trying to sound stern but failing. "Come on, sweetheart, not here…" Despite her complaints, she pressed herself against him, recapturing his lips. He pulled her into his lap.

The door slid open and light flooded the room.

(TygerEye Antilles, Copyright 2005) Please do not use without permission of the author.


	12. Chapter 12

**AND NEVER RETURN**

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

Luke gratefully locked the door behind the olive green adolescent. Triller had been talking non-stop since Luke walked in. The formal receptions and all that Luke had been required to attend had taught him how to feign interest even when he had no idea what the speaker was describing. He tried to use that training for the complicated process fifteen-year-old Triller explained, but he was rewarded only with a headache. Luke's attention was spent trying to decipher his roommate's garbled Basic, without being overly obvious that he was having trouble understanding. Triller had seemed genuinely hurt when Luke casually asked when he had begun to learn Basic.

Triller had finally left, carrying a stack of datacards and music discs. Luke decided to take the opportunity to meditate. He was still uncertain about Konner Donteril. Something just struck him as…_wrong_. But the only reason he could think of was the fact that Donteril was Imperial, seemingly some Intel type.

Luke considered the room a moment, then grabbed a blanket from his bed and settled on the floor. The heater warmed the tiled floor and the Jedi Master knew that if he tried meditating on his bed, he was exhausted enough to fall straight asleep. Even on the floor, Luke had to pinch his arm to keep awake while he slowed his breathing and began to walk through his calming exercises. His head lulled forward as he slowly immersed himself in the Force.

A kaleidoscope of colors and images swirled through his mind, moving too quickly for him to recognize anything. The vision solidified and he saw Mara beneath twin moons. One second she was just standing there, her attention far away, dressed entirely in black, her brilliant hair pulled back sharply, then she was kneeling next to a body, blood on her hands. Luke tried to look down on the corpse, but the vision wavered, like ripples on a pond's surface. A lightsaber hilt was tossed into the air—

Luke was shaken roughly out of the vision and he inhaled sharply as the first thing to fill his view were two huge insectoid eyes staring into his face from less than half a meter away.

" 'Kay you?" Triller asked. His voice carried the nasal undertones of his native tongue.

"Uh, yes. Yeah, I'm okay." Luke forced a smile. Truth was, being forced out of meditation was a shock to the mind and Luke could almost swear Ewoks were pounding on drums inside his aching head.

"Not on toes if sit up sleep," Triller told him, wagging a finger at the older man. "Tomorrow big. Shrigan girl come."

Luke assumed that Triller was talking about the informant. Hopefully this meant she wouldn't cancel again. "Okay, thanks." He stood up and stretched. "You going to bed?"

The Rodian shook his head almost violently and held up a nondescript datacard. "Datacard need. Codes."

"Oh. Well, good luck."

Triller shrugged, a very human gesture. "Luck no need. Too easy." With a shake of his head, the teenager left the room, muttering under his breath.

Luke smiled a little, then sat on the edge of his bed. He closed his eyes and tried to recall the vision, but the images were no clearer than before. Mara looked over an unknown dead body. The Force didn't give a timeline and Mara's clothing had simply been a black jumpsuit and boots. She could have been the Emperor's Hand or a Trader. Remembering the faceless corpse, Luke hoped he saw an echo of the past, and not a possible future.

He didn't recognize the saber's hilt as his or Mara's, and he was oddly left with the impression of a yellow blade…

A sharp intake of breath. Another Jedi? On Eqiirsa?

The Force-sensitive, the person who had picked up on him when he first arrived.

He would have to talk to Mara tomorrow.

At the same time of Luke's vision, Mara was wandering through the indistinct hallways of the Resistance's base. She rolled her shoulders, popping the joints as she returned to the datapad's map. According to the small map, this hallway led to her room. Well, her and the Bothan girl's room. Earlier that morning, after Mara had broken out of her room, Konner handed her a datapad with her new room assignment.

It seemed to Mara that she had been trapped in the Qantul system at the perfect time—Konner's planned escape was to occur no later than one month after her arrival. If this whole mess with the pirates and the navcomp miscalculation had happened just two months later, she would have been forced to find a way out herself. It would have certainly been a challenge, what with the troubles Konner had faced. Konner had been the best in the business, and yet the Shrigan had thwarted him at every turn. It was amazing.

The hallway ended abruptly around a corner and the former Emperor's Hand cursed out loud. Mara prided herself on her excellent memory and sense of direction, but the corridors in this building all looked exactly the same: light grey painted durasteel walls, floors, and ceilings, the occasional glowpanel, and nondescript doors peppering the walls. The only defining features were that in some areas, the paint had chipped off.

She understood the strategy—were the building to be invaded, odds leaned that the ShriSec officers would get lost in the labyrinth of corridors, giving the inhabitants time to escape. But now that Mara herself was having trouble just locating her room, she thought the idea stupid and presumptuous. What if some of the Resistance members got lost instead of the Security agents?

Another hallway, with four doors. Consulting the datapad again, this time Mara was nearly certain this one _was_ hers. She touched the keypad outside the door, and her fingerprints allowed her access. Even before she entered the room she flipped the old-fashioned light switch on with the Force. The last thing she wanted to do was trip over one of her potentially messy roommate's belongings.

What she saw nearly made her trip anyway.

"Oh," she managed to stay, startled. "I—I didn't mean to interrupt."

Her roommate jumped away from Daryn when the lights snapped on and straightened her clothing, tan fur flattened against her body. "No, no, it's my fault. Our fault." She glanced over at Daryn, who had done nothing more than smooth his hair and lean back in his chair, crossing his right leg over his left and clasping his hands in his lap.

"Oh. Right," Mara stammered. "Well, uh, I was just planning to get some sleep." Mentally, she cursed herself. She was Mara Jade, shavit, not some bashful schoolgirl!

"Daryn was just leaving," Kalika said, pointedly looking in her lover's direction.

"Alright, I get the hint," Daryn stood up with what seemed an enormous effort. "Although," he continued with a daring grin, "I must admit, I _never _thought I would see Mara Jade blush, much less because of something _I _did."

Mara stared at Daryn steadily, blankly, letting him see only one thought: she could kill him with little effort and no second thought. After a few seconds, Daryn flinched and glanced away. Mara had to fight hard not to smile in triumph. She had not been the assassin for almost eight years, but she still could make people back down with just a look.

Kalika had pretended to be preoccupied with smoothing out her skirt. When she looked up, she was surprised at the expression on Daryn's face. She doubted if anyone else would notice it, but she recognized fear in his brown eyes.

"I just remembered that I have something to do," Daryn said suddenly. "Um, Kali, you want to help me?"

The Bothan nodded slowly. "Sure." She followed her lover out of the room, quickly glancing back to see Mara Jade turn quickly from them.

Daryn lead Kalika back underground, to an empty meeting room. Once the door slid closed behind them, he turned to his girlfriend. "Be careful around her," he warned.

She frowned. "What happened back there? One minute you were fine, then you—you were scared or something. What were you afraid of?"

He gave a halfhearted smile. "Her."

"Mara?" Kalika didn't understand. "Why are you suddenly afraid of Mara Jade?"

"I've always been afraid of her, Kali, but I guess I thought she had changed, that she'd mellowed over the years or something. I was wrong. She hasn't."

"What are you talking about? How do you know?"

"She—she looked at me, and that's all I need to see. She's dangerous, Kali. Be careful around her."

"Who is she, Daryn?"

To her surprise, he looked away. "I can't really explain, Kali, I'm sorry. Just be really careful around her, okay? Watch everything you say and do near her. I'll try to get you another room assignment."

"Daryn, who is she?"

"I can't tell you and don't ask her, either. Just leave her alone. Promise me."

"Dar," she began, but stopped. As much as she hated giving up on anything, her boyfriend was genuinely worried. "Alright. I promise, Daryn. I won't question, speak to, or otherwise irritate Mara Jade." She kissed him to seal the agreement. She would talk to Ekata in the morning. The Twi'lek could hold her own and she would be just as interested in learning about the mysterious redhead.

Mara wanted to disappear when Daryn practically fled the room. For years the Trader had tried to make Mara Jade a different person from the Emperor's Hand. But with one action bred from ego, she had destroyed years of effort. Mara Jade may not serve the Emperor any longer, but she was still one of the most formidable assassins in the galaxy. The moment she let her ego control her and force Daryn to back down like she had, had destroyed her careful work.

All that work wasted because she couldn't control _her_ actions. Mara pulled on her coat again and left the room. She didn't see anyone else in the halls beside her and she guessed that Daryn had taken his girlfriend somewhere private. It was a surprise to see the Imperial with a nonhuman woman, but as far as Mara could remember, Daryn had never seemed as anti-alien as others, especially Konner. From rumors as well as bits and tiny pieces admitted by the man himself, Konner Donteril had grown up in one of Coruscant's lower city gangs, where he'd been bullied and beaten by older boys, many of them nonhuman. Mara also guessed that besides being one of the smallest boys there, he was also harassed because his species was favored by the government with even humanoids were treated as second-class citizens, at best.

Mara nearly walked past the stairwell in her search for a gym or workout hall, but she suddenly decided that she wanted to see something other than the same drab grey walls and she was beginning to feel claustrophobic from being underground for so long. The stairs finally ended at a trapdoor. Mara pushed it open carefully and found herself in a large open room, studded with a few metal boxes. One entire wall was made of transparisteel, allowing a wide view of the city. Mara judged that she was two, maybe three stories up.

The only illumination was provided by Eqiirsa's three moons. Mara wasn't sure whether anyone could see into this room from the outside. If this building was suspected as a safe house for the Resistance leader and under surveillance, they might match up her holograph. She cautiously stepped further into the room.

"It's not that bad a view, is it?"

Mara jumped, then berated herself for not noticing the other occupant of the room.

"Not exactly Imperial Center, but it's not bad," he continued.

"I didn't realize anyone else was here." She turned to leave, but Konner stopped her.

"No, don't go." He put his hand on her arm and possessively pulled her close to him, fingers almost hard enough to bruise. She had anticipated this, a reunion with Konner ever since she discovered his name in the medical center, but her mind had never played it realistically.

Mara yanked herself free with a warning glare for the Imperial. None of her visualizations had her so irritated by his presumptuous touch.

His fists clenched momentarily, but then he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "We used to be friends, Mara."

His use of the past tense caused her to pause a moment. Guilt trickled into her senses. She had been so excited at the prospect of being with him again, but now she just wasn't sure. She closed her eyes briefly. "I know."

He moved a step closer, brushing his fingers along her left cheek. "I—I really missed you, Mara," he confided, barely a whisper. "I didn't think I would ever see you again."

"I felt the same way," she admitted. "But—"

He cut her off, pressing his lips softly against hers. She didn't pull away, instead deepening it, slipping her arms behind his neck as he enclosed her slender waist. Mara could feel his emotions wash over her, leaking from his mind in their overabundance and she was content to experience it: lust, anticipation…

As he tightened his grip, the contentment Mara had felt disappeared and she couldn't explain what she was sensing anymore. His hands slipped underneath her shirt, fingers splayed across her bare skin.

She wasn't surprised by his actions. She had expected this move since they had met in the dingy office a few days before.

No, that didn't explain why Konner suddenly left _wrong_ to her mind.

Konner had pulled away when she froze, panting a little. "Mara?"

There was something in his eyes, an uncertainty she was not used to seeing. "It's just a little too fast for me."

He raised an eyebrow, back to his old self. "Fast? I seem to remember fast as the rule of the day back then."

She blushed and smoothed her shirt down. "Things are a little different now, Konner."

"You don't want me anymore?"

That strange feeling was back, almost like her danger sense creeping along the back of her neck, raising the hair there. "I didn't mean that," Mara said hastily. "Just…a little slower this time."

Konner grinned. "You mean you want to be courted this time."

Mara let a slow smile spread across her face. "I guess you could say that."

"Then, my lady, would you allow me to escort you to your chamber?"

"If the gentleman would be so kind?" She fell back into one of the many roles she'd played.

"It would be my greatest pleasure, fairest lady."

Mara felt a frustration that she was certain wasn't hers, and she realized that she was still picking up on Konner's emotions. She carefully built a mental shield between them, but brief impressions kept leaking through. A slight worry crept in, this feeling definitely hers. Her mental shields were unusually strong, lessons instilled into her young mind during training, but the fact that she could still hear Konner—someone who wasn't Force-sensitive—showed the blocks weren't up to their standards.

Maybe she should tell Luke? Then she could also try to explain the strange vibes she picked up from her old lover.

No. Luke already didn't trust Konner Donteril—he didn't need more of a reason. She would keep this to herself and just work more on the strength of her mental shield between herself and Konner.

Konner returned to the upstairs room after he escorted Mara to her quarters.

_She was different._

He stood in strong of the large transparisteel window, his feet shoulder-distance apart, his hands clasped behind his back, reminiscent of a Star Destroyer captain. A shock of black hair had fallen over in front of his right eye, but he wasn't paying attention to that. His mind was elsewhere.

Oh, sure, he knew she would have changed during the years they had been apart. He would have been an idiot not to realize that. But there was something _more_, something he hadn't anticipated.

He made his move much like he had in the past: slightly aggressive, possessive. But she had pulled away from him and not playfully, like she used to. So he changed his words and body language to one that was gentler, romantic. And Mara, his Mara, his strong, independent Emperor's Hand, responded to that.

And there were other things, too: her decision to search him out quietly rather than rush out, steal a ship and find him after she was holding all the cards; she seemed soft, especially towards _Skywalker._

Konner knew better than to assume she had softened in her mind or abilities. Just some of her tastes.

The Emperor had been murdered three years after Konner had been captured by the Shrigan, so that left an opening of half a decade. What had Mara been doing? Whatever it was, it had changed her.

Skywalker—he was assuredly part of it. The questions he asked, the looks he gave her…and of course, their telepathic conversation. Konner couldn't forget that. From what he could guess, they'd only exchanged a few sentences but Skywalker had gotten on her nerves and _Mara didn't physically lash out at him_.

If he had irritated her back then, he would be sporting bruises, at the very least. Mara had always been rather physical.

But she had matured, he decided, yes, matured. She was no longer the girl he knew.

But he would have plenty of time to get to know the woman.

After all other distractions were gone.

(TygerEye Antilles, Copyright 2005) Please do not use without permission of the author. 


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